Fire & Thorns
by silverstaar18
Summary: Everything changed in 2 years. Beacon had fallen. Professor Ozpin went missing. Remnant had descended into chaos at the hands of Cinder Fall and the creatures of Grimm. This was the apocalypse. Ruby's warm heart had blackened with darkness, hell bent on getting revenge. But an unlikely nemesis could be the only thing that could bring light back into her dark soul. (RxT)
1. Blackened Memories

**This is my first ever RWBY fanfiction. I wonder if people will even read it lol.**

**So I'm a huge fan of Rooster Teeth and love their show RWBY. I've read a few fics and see that there aren't enough RubyxTorchwick fics! I ship them no matter what other people may say. I absolutely love Torchwick, his personality just makes me laugh. xD**

**So I came up with this idea out of the blue and began writing. Obviously since Volume 2 of RWBY is still ongoing, the info and events in this fic is completely made up. I'll mould in some real events from the show here and there when I can but this is set two years after Cinder's great plan succeeds (by the way, I have no idea what it is for obvious reasons but I made something up.) **

**Yeah people might say the age gap between Roman and Ruby is big but I don't care. If you don't like it then it's fine with me :-) So here Ruby is 17 and Roman is 23. Okay, that's details out of the way. **

**Hope you guys like it! **

**(Disclaimer: I do not own RWBY or any of the character's)**

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><p><strong>Chapter One<strong>

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><p><strong> Blackened Memories<strong>

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><p>When did the world end?<p>

Did it end the moment Mercury betrayed her?

When Beacon had fallen and Professor Ozpin went missing?

... _When Yang fell into a coma?_

Ruby winced, ignoring any voices in her head that constantly reminded her of the torturous moment when she had failed to protect her sister, the sister she loved with all her heart and had always been there for her, most of the time. It was her fault for acting recklessly. For childishly breaking out once she had discovered Mercury's secret.

She should have seen it coming. _How could she have not noticed? _That day when the three of _them_, including that_ conniving witch, _had waltzed into Beacon claiming to be exchange students from Haven, she could have stopped this very apocalypse from ever taking place. How could she be so _stupid! _They obviously looked suspicious. How could she have been so naive to believe Mercury's charm and kind words? _She trusted him. _Alongside his partner, Emerald.

_She would kill them both._

Slowly, and painfully.

"Keep that one secure, she's fast."

Ruby could barely hear the voices echoing into her ears like whispers of the wind. She was far too drugged and bruised to even enhance her awareness of what was happening. All she could feel were the death grips on her arms and something cool and sharp being kept just under her chin.

_A knife?_

Her body was being hauled across cold and damp concrete, the air was stale and freezing but she felt too numb to notice. Her red cloak dragged in tow behind her, thankfully - at least she wouldn't feel completely unsafe. Her brain screamed to move, speak, breathe. Neither. Nothing. She couldn't function. All she had was her memories that swirled round her head continuously, tormenting her every fragment of a second. Her head throbbed with a dull ache in the back of her head where she was surely hit. There was a burning sensation on her right forearm with a feeling of something damp sticking to it.

It kept her awake enough to be aware that she was being moved. _Or dragged._

When she got out of here, the things she would do that would satiate her rage... She could almost taste the satisfaction after successfully tearing off Cinder's head with her Crescent Rose.

Her heart plummeted at the thought of her dear weapon being taken away, with possibilities of it getting destroyed though she worked hard when designing the weapon to keep it indestructible. They would reunite, she knew it and then it would be a blood bath, even more so than it already was. Vivid images of the outside world flashed in her mind like a recurring bad dream and each moment seared an unforgettable image of torture into her brain. She couldn't stop them if she tried.

_Cinder Fall._

The name was like a bad taste at the tip of her tongue that refused to remove itself. She would remember forever.

"Throw her in."

It was too dark for her to tell exactly where she was being taken but she could hear the squeal of the rusty metal gates being opened, scraping against the floor like nails being drawn across a chalkboard. They had stopped.

She felt herself being dragged through then a short moment after her body was flung forwards limply. Her frame collided hard against the cold concrete that it almost knocked whatever air was left in her lungs. Her left cheek slapped against the floor that it felt like her teeth rattled. A groan escaped her cold lips and her chest ached from the impact of landing on the ground.

There was a distinct mutter of voices and the slamming of the gate closing and being locked then it faded to silence.

_Silence._

_Alone._

The rush of nausea swept her mind as she forced her brain to work and get her limbs moving. _Too numb, _she thought, cursing inwardly. _What did she drug me with? _

She coughed, regretting it immediately when the burning followed. When had been the last time she had a sip of water? Two days? More? Probably more. She would do anything for a few drops right now. Her eyes were open but her view blurred in and out of focus which made it difficult to even make out where she was. A cell no doubt, but where?

_Arms, I need to move my arms. _

Her last remnants of energy needed to go there, she needed to lift herself up. _Focus Ruby. _She groaned once more, channelling her energy to her arms, ignoring the screaming voices that told her to lay there and sleep. The strength ignited with a small spark and by a miracle she felt her fingers curl, digging into the cold stone beneath. Her face lifted next as she reeled her arms in, her right arm protested in agony but still she forced her elbows out and pushed herself up, slowly but surely.

Her arms were in excruciating pain now. How many bruises did she have? What about the cut on her forearm? It must look ghastly but she did well to avoid thinking or looking at it.

Her breathing was laboured now, but she managed to haul herself up, her torso arching up and face lifting eagerly to look out.

There was a sudden scuffling noise, like something moving ahead of her. Her eyes blinked rapidly, trying to decipher whatever was in front of her. Maybe it was a rat.

_Footsteps._

That _definitely _wasn't a rat... It wasn't a what, it was a _who. _

Her arms weakened, almost giving out from holding the weight of her upper body but she was fixated on trying to find out who it was moving in front of her. Somewhere in the shadows, someone was breathing, taking steps towards her.

Her lips opened to speak but nothing came out. Her throat was dry, cracked and raw. Only a cough escaped her lips which made her throat crave for water. Her face fell, as she pressed on and pushed herself up higher, trying to bring her knees in and stand. The footsteps stopped, dangerously close.

She froze. Her face tilted up slowly, heart pounding a million beats a minute with suspense.

The first thing her eyes caught were the black of his shoes, scuffed but intact. They were followed by long legs clothed in black garments. She knew it was black because all she could see was darkness. For all she knew, they could be yellow in the poor lighting. There seemed to be a small glow of light coming from the back of the cell that allowed some field of vision but in her current state, she could barely make out the room.

Her eyes continued to trail up, following a lean outline of a body, the torso clothed in black too. But then she caught them – the pale arms hanging by the sides. And then... _she saw his face._

_It... It can't be!_

Her eyes widened, for a fleeting moment she caught the familiar flop of bright orange hair, the long bangs covering the right eye. _They would be green. _Something was missing...

_Hat._

Her lips quivered and her pulse riveted. She could feel herself losing consciousness.

In that moment, one word managed to escape her lips before her arms finally gave out and darkness swallowed her whole.

"_T-Torchwick?_"

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><p><strong>Hmm, yeah. I have nothing to say haha.<strong>

**Please review and let me know what you think. :-)**


	2. The Living Dead

**Wow. I never expected to get such a positive reaction! So glad to see people are interested! I respond to reviews at the end, for now you can enjoy the next chapter :D**

**This fic is rated T for language. Just putting it out there. I forgot to add. (Nothing major)**

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><p><strong>Chapter Two<strong>

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><p><strong>The Living Dead<strong>

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><p><em>One eye. Two eyes. Open. Look at the ugly world you live in. Brace yourself.<em>

Ruby's eyes shot open, suddenly gasping as they did. Her body felt heavy, but alive. She was alive.

_Where am I? What happened?_

She blinked profusely, her memories a haze of swirls and clouded as she tried to gather up information. She looked up to see stone. Darkness surrounding her with only a faint glow of light coming from above her.

_Soft. _Something soft was under her. Something warm, over her. Her body felt like it was on fire, exhausted and limp. But somehow, it mustered up enough energy to move. Had the drugs worn off? She remembered holding Crescent Rose in her hands, ready to strike Cinder but she was thrown back against the wall by a huge burst of power that burned the cut on her arm, gnawing at her skin. Her body was immobilized and then something sharp jabbed her in the back of her neck. Then everything went wrong.

_She was supposed to die. Cinder was supposed to die._

_She failed everyone that believed in her. _

Her lungs burned as did her throat. She turned her face to see out into the darkness and stopped when seeing a clear, crackled water bottle beside her face. She was on the ground on some sort of worn out mattress, no thicker than an inch but that didn't matter.

_Water? And so fresh and clean...? _

The clear liquid inside was filled to a quarter of the bottle which was hardly bigger than her forearm but it was water nonetheless.

_Or was it poisoned water?_

It was so impeccably clear that she doubted every belief that told her it was real. Clear water was hard to come by after the reservoirs were built to guard every speck of clean water, and the oceans and sea's guarded heavily by Cinder's men. The water that they had been able to find was either partly clean or contaminated with toxins given off from the creatures of Grimm.

Life was sucked out from the ground that plants began to die and darkness engulfed the Remnant.

It felt like a sharp slap across her cheek. Remembering it all. The thousands that died from starvation, from being hunted and sickness.

Her eyes felt moist but she forced herself not to cry.

She looked back at the water, contemplating whether it was safe to drink. Cinder hadn't killed her yet so perhaps her plan was to kill her slowly, torture her till she could no longer take it. But right now her throat was eager for water. She had to choose.

_Live but eventually die from thirst or risk my life and drink the water?_

What a predicament.

"It's safe to drink... if that's what you're thinking."

She almost jumped up from the sudden voice that called out from across the shadows. Her heart leapt up to her throat that she was sure it was having an attack.

_Who was that? _

She found herself sitting up, grimacing from the dull ache on her right forearm. To her surprise, there was some sort of grey fabric wrapped around it, concealing the gore underneath. She narrowed her eyes in suspicion, inclining her head towards the sound of the voice.

_God, even her eyes were still fuzzy. _

When her eyesight adjusted to the poorly lit room, she almost gasped but her dry throat couldn't handle it yet.

_I remember. _

It was real. She hadn't dreamt it but she was sure before passing out that she had seen _him. _

There, sitting against the bars of the cell across from her with a smirk on his lips, his flop of orange hair that was strangely unkempt, the single slanted green eye with the other covered by a layer of bangs and long eyelashes, was _Roman Torchwick._

His hair was free from his usual bowler hat, losing that 'gentleman' appearance he always held. The white jacket was missing leaving a plain black t-shirt and the grey scarf tied around his neck but even that looked strange. His arms were bare, revealing the defined curves of his muscles that she had never seen before. His hands were now covered with black fingerless gloves.

The main item – his cane. That blasted cane that had been fired at her way too many times, sometimes succeeding to hit her body with the firework rockets that exploded on impact, was missing. His knees were drawn up, his elbows balanced on the caps casually like he was sitting at a beach and enjoying the view of the ocean.

As if he could read her thoughts, his smirk widened.

"Hello Red."

A shiver crawled up her spine at the sound of his voice. It was too familiar, too unreal. It was low, cocky. Almost husky and aged.

_He was alive. He was right in front of her!_

She could feel herself blink, forcing herself to wake up if she had been dreaming or hallucinating. He couldn't be here, _he wasn't supposed to be alive._

"I can tell you're surprised to see me alive," he chuckled quietly. "Actually, I'm surprised myself."

_How does he do that? How does he know what I'm thinking?_

Every word he spoke brought her back down to reality, forcing her to embrace the truth. Torchwick was very much alive and here he was, talking to her in a cell out of all places. Her eyes were glued to his, refusing to move.

She had a sudden flashback to their first meeting, when she had interrupted his little robbery at that old dust shop.

_The shop that no longer existed._

Her heart clenched.

Torchwick's eyes studied her face, almost like he was seeing right through her. Those green eyes flickered slowly like he was waiting for her to say something. What _could _she say? Her eyes fell to the water bottle once more, her longing suddenly increased.

"Drink the water Red, I promise it isn't poisoned."

If she could laugh, she would have. Loud. Trusting Roman Torchwick was like trusting Cinder not to let go of her hand if she was hanging over a cliff. _Impossible._

Seeing her hesitation, he must have realised the blunder of a sentence he made and sighed. She looked up with narrowed eyes. For the first time, she noticed that his usual pale complexion had blemishes. There was an odd fading scar by his left jaw, scuff marks surrounding his cheeks and upper arms and a few bruises in odd spots.

_What happened to him?_

"For f- look kid, if I wanted to kill you, I would have done it already. So, _drink_," he pressed on, sounding a little annoyed now.

Was she supposed to feel grateful? To believe his words? There was logic behind it to some extent but their past was hardly a picnic to remember. He was the man behind the hundreds of robberies and stole the precious Dust they so badly needed. He was the one to work alongside the White Fang and Cinder Fall, choosing the life of crime. He handed the Remnant over on a plate to Cinder.

Her throat complained and she found herself wishing to believe his words.

_Resist it Ruby. He's a liar._

But her brain seemed to be ignored as her hand had a mind of its own, reaching out for the bottle and curling her fingers around it. The water sloshed inside as she raised it, bringing it closer to her mouth. Her body trembled, afraid. She didn't dare look up to see _his _expression.

Her shaky fingers unscrewed the cap, then brought the brim to her lips. She could taste it already. The freshness of it was enticing and tempting.

The water was like an instant relief, spiralling down her throat like a stream. The burning faded at once and suddenly she forgot all her previous suspicions, chugging down the water like an animal. It was cool, fresher than any water or drink she had drunk in months. The taste was almost sweet but delicious and refreshing. Water had never tasted so good, she regretted ever taking advantage of it in the past.

She was almost disappointed when it came to the last few drops, craving for more but her throat was satisfied and she could feel energy surging through her body and lungs. She licked her lips, feeling them moisten.

As if she had woken up from a nightmare, she froze instantly.

_What had she done?!_

Her eyes were stuck on the empty bottle held in her palms, its contents now inside of her that could very well be poisoned.

A moment passed. Another.

Nothing was happening.

More silence.

More waiting.

It felt like years had passed and nothing came. No agonising pain, no sickness, nothing.

Her eyes looked up slowly, catching the one green iris staring right back. There was something within them, a certain smugness. A smirk curled at his lips as he shook his head slowly.

"Now, was that so hard?" his eye pointed down. "You have to learn to trust me Red, I am your prison buddy now."

_What?_

"Oh don't look so surprised. You think I'm sitting in this cell for fun?" he said sardonically, the very tone she recalled him using a long time ago. His face darkened, like anger clouded his mood. A bitter laugh escaped his lips that made her recoil. "Not even close..."

"You're supposed to be dead."

_Did she just say that?_

Her own voice surprised her, she almost jumped at the sound of it and the fact it was clear, painless. Cracked. It seemed to affect Torchwick too, his eye widened slightly, trying to grasp the idea of her speaking. The smirk returned.

"But I'm very much alive."

She hesitated, biting back her snappy reply.

"I saw you. That day..." she started off slowly, eyes falling to the empty bottle of water. "The whole warehouse was on fire. You never came out. I left you unconscious."

"Hmm, yes, I should thank you for that," he lowered his tone. "I guess I just got lucky."

She shot her head up, glaring at him with an intense hatred that had built up for this man for so long. All this time she believed him to be dead, to have suffered a fate where he burned in the very fire he created yet here he was! Alive! _Talking to her _as if nothing had happened!

"_You should have died!_" she cried out, feeling the waves of heart-wrenching emotions gather inside her heart, tightening around it. She threw the bottle across the floor, watching it roll away with a light _thump. _Her breathing came out in ragged breaths.

Something flickered across his face, an expression she couldn't read. There was no cockiness, no sarcastic grin or smug smile. The one eye she was in view of spoke a different story. His eyes were hiding a secret. It left her speechless. After a moment, she eased back and sighed, feeling the locks of her hair curtaining her face and shadowed her eyes from his view.

"What happened to you?" she blurted out.

A sense of dread filled her. Did she really want to know?

He didn't answer. When she looked up to check if he had fallen unconscious or something she was alarmed to find him staring at her with an intensity that could cut through glass. The dark swirls of green laid heavily on her, digging at her soul to unearth her hidden memories. She felt the urge to protect them somehow. He tilted his head to the side, gazing at her face. Questioning. Suspicious.

"The question here is... what happened to _you?_"

She drew her breath in sharply, flinching like he had just asked her to take an innocent life away. A searing pain lashed at her chest, deeply. It lingered for a few moments until she heard him speak again.

A small smile tugged at the corners of his lips as he studied her face. "What happened to _you, _Red, to make you the cold hearted and bitter girl you seemed to have become?"

The words cut through her like a knife. She shook at the thought of coming up with an answer. It was the one question... that terrified her.

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><p><strong>Ha Ha. I don't even know what to say. Let me know your thoughts.<strong>

**shadowdoom10:** Ruby is quite dark in this fic but the old her is still in there somewhere! Glad you're interested :-)

**Dreadphoenix: **Thanks for taking an interest! Hope I don't disappoint!

**frik1000: **Yaay RubyxTorchwick fans unite!

**Agent-Freelancer-D C: **Yes I do :P

**Foxtrot Agent 21: **You are very good at guessing! I'm surprised you came up with that theory just from that first chapter haha. You're quite right! And thank you, I hope I don't disappoint! :-)

**Mr Ruffles: **I'll update as fast as I can :-)

**NeverCameUpThroughTheRabbitHole: **Glad you're liking it so far! Lot's more to come :D

**Thank you everyone for the support! Hope you enjoyed chapter 2 and do leave a review. It encourages me so much! :-)  
><strong>


	3. Reflections

**I bring you the third chapter of Fire & Thorns! Ruby and Roman talk a little more this chapter :D Thanks for the continued support guys! I'm trying to update twice a week on top of writing new chapters. I think it's a good pace for me right now. :-)**

**Enjoy!**

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><p><strong>Chapter Three<strong>

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><p><strong>Reflections<strong>

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><p>It felt like days had passed when it quite possibly had been mere hours since he asked her <em>that <em>question_. _She had chosen to keep silent, refusing to look him in the eye and turned away, curling back under the old blanket that had covered her body as she slept. She kept her back to him.

He hummed at times, quietly but it felt like it was amplified in their dark little cell. Every sound he made was dangerously loud, ricocheting off the walls into her ears. She could barely even try to sleep without reacting to every small echo. She shouldn't be afraid.

He didn't persist, simply chuckling after she went quiet and mumbled incoherent words.

At some point, she fell asleep.

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><p>"<em>Weiss! Where is Yang? Where is she?!"<em>

_The white haired girl's eyes iced over, suddenly grave. Ruby's chest constricted as she shook Weiss roughly._

"_R-Ruby... Yang- She's-..." her voice trailed off._

_The room changed._

_Mist clouded her vision and Weiss was gone and in its place, was a battlefield. _

_Ruby was now outside at the entrance of Beacon Academy. Explosions surrounded her. Battles were going down and the walls were crumbling. Half of Beacon was set ablaze, bodies were strewn across the paths. Blood ran like rivers across the floor._

"_RUBY!"_

_She jolted, looking up to see the body of her team mate being held by large golden glyphs. But they were doing more damage than good. She could see the burn marks enclosing around Blake's body as the barriers closed in on her body, squeezing her tighter and tighter until marks covered her bare skin. Her screams were earth shattering, painful and sharp._

"_BLAKE!"_

_She tried to run but the more she ran, the further she got from Cinder, whose arms were snaked around Blake, suffocating her._

"_RUBY!"_

"_BLAKE!"_

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><p>Ruby shot up, gasping out for oxygen her lungs so desperately needed, feeling the instant sense of cold air attacking her skin like ice shards. It felt good. Sweat piled up on her forehead as she breathed in deeply, trying to ease her burning lungs.<p>

_Where am I? _

Then she remembered. Again.

"You're quite the screamer. Mind keeping it down sweetheart?"

She turned to the sound of the cocky tone and glowered. Hating him. _He really was here._

"_Don't _call me sweetheart," she hissed with venom. Torchwick remained sitting against the cell bars, two or three metres away from her position with one leg outstretched while the other was curled up against his torso. He had his elbow rested atop with clear signs that he had been leaning his head against it. There was a faded pink mark on his cheek.

He grinned scornfully. "If you wish, I prefer Red too."

_Bastard. _He still hadn't let go of that old nickname. To this day, not once did she hear him utter the name Ruby and she was happy to keep it that way. She hated the thief with a passion and would hardly give him the pleasure of making up witty remarks about her name. He had that awful glint in his slanted eyes, even in this poor lighting she could tell.

She sighed quietly, releasing her frustration before sitting up straight. The strange make-do bandage on her arm was still there but something seemed familiar about it, she couldn't exactly pin-point what it was yet. _How annoying!_

"So anyway, now that we have come to terms with your name preferences, what were we talking about before you so rudely turned away and went to sleep?" Torchwick's voice echoed once again.

"We weren't."

She looked up to glower, wishing he would shut up so she could think for a second. He seemed to continue as if she hadn't even said anything.

"You know, I swear we were discussing something pretty important..." he feigned thinking hard, rubbing the edge of his chin with his hand whilst looking up at the ceiling.

The throbbing in her temples seemed to ignite, gradually increasing in strength with every passing moment. _Was he always this irritating? Why the hell did they put me with him in the first place? _She turned to look out at through the bars into the passage of darkness behind where she was dragged through not too long ago. The thought made her shiver as she brushed it off.

It didn't seem like anyone else was here. It was far too quiet.

"Hm, yeah, that's right! I asked you if-"

Was he _still talking?_

"Where are we Torchwick?" she snapped, interrupting him.

He seemed surprised, catching her gaze before grinning. "Isn't it obvious?"

Not really. For all she knew, they could have been moved to another region other than Vale. What a horrifying thought.

"Still in Vale Red, don't look so anxious," Torchwick snickered. He raised his chin up defiantly. "Although, we could do with a little more light, maybe a radio or -"

He continued to mutter useless words and Ruby blocked him out. The bars of the cage didn't seem _too tough, _perhaps if she gathered enough energy she could use her semblance to bust out. How hard could it be?

"- fabulous really, but a nicer cell would be good too," Torchwick paused for a brief moment, possibly catching her disinterested face. "Don't bother kid, these bars are laced with anti-whatever-power-you-might-have-basically, magic. My guess is Dust. They're indestructible."

Ruby narrowed her eyes sharply. "There has to be a weakness."

"Rewind Red, if you haven't noticed, but you seem to be lacking that pretty little toy of yours."

He meant Crescent Rose, and yes, she realised that but she still had power. She tested her body strength, raising both elbows, moving both legs around under the blanket that was bunched up to her waist and tried out her bandaged arm.

Time stopped. She halted on suddenly seeing a flash of an image, picturing the familiar grey material. Her eyes scanned over the fabric tied around her arm, a faded dark spot where blood had managed to seep through but had stemmed the flow of blood. The fabric was awfully familiar and now she knew why.

Wavering, her blood ran cold as she slowly turned her gaze up, eyes trailing up to the figure sitting across from her. Past his darkly clothed legs and bare arms, her eyes grazed over to his neck – where the grey scarf was tied around like a neckerchief.

_It was the same kind. Did he...?_

Her breathing hitched in her throat, swallowing the lump that had formed and left her parched once more. Even the hairs at the back of her neck stuck up like they had been electrocuted. The mere thought of him touching her was enough to make her feel bile come up her throat. It sickened her to the bone but worse, she felt a heavy feeling of something new inside her chest. Something that ached but tingled at the same time.

Almost like he could sense her eyes on him, Torchwick shot his green eye to catch her staring, piecing together her movements and attention. He clearly had seen her clutching her arm and her eyes questioning the material around his neck. For a moment, he looked unaffected and then he rolled his eyes in annoyance. A frustrated sigh left his lips.

"Yes, you're welcome." He turned his face away.

Ruby faltered, suddenly forgetting all previous feelings of disgust. "Excuse me?"

Torchwick continued to point at her arm that she pulled back away from his view as he gestured the make-do bandage.

"How dare you even touch me!" Ruby cried out defensively.

"Remarkable. Man does something considerate and what does he get for it? Grief!" he scoffed, chewing his bottom lip in aggravation before sighing. "I'm not the bad guy here Red."

Now it was Ruby's turn to scoff. "_Not the bad guy? _You will always be the bad guy!" she could feel her blood boiling beneath her skin. Torchwick remained silent, taking in her outburst. "I don't even know how you can just sit there, acting all macho and sarcastic when everything that is happening right now is your entire fault!"

He seemed taken aback by this, eyebrow arching. "_My fault?_"

"Yes, YOUR fault." Did she have to repeat herself?

"Pray tell how this apocalypse is any of my doing? Cinder is the one giving the orders here so I'd check my facts if I wer-"

"You were the one to rob us of our Dust. You were the one to steal every little speck you could find, handing it all over to Cinder when it could have been used to ward off the creatures. Due to this, Cinder was able to gain control of the creatures of Grimm who have torn our world apart. Don't even try to utter a word in denial Torchwick," she spat out each and every word knowing her tone was immensely acidic. She poured out every ounce of hatred she had for the man in them. If words could hurt, she would have kept going but her throat was beginning to dry up and she no longer had any water.

Everything had been his fault. Without the precious Dust, they didn't stand a chance against the creatures of Grimm when they suddenly attacked Beacon with Cinder as their leader. With that much Dust within her grasp, she had the power to destroy them all for good and now she had an army of Grimm monsters, destroying their world.

Two years ago, they knew nothing about the importance and powers behind Dust. Now it was too late.

If Torchwick had left well enough alone, they could have had a chance, _anything_, to help them prepare for the brutal battle that followed. That day would always haunt her mind.

Ruby noticed the immediate silence, no movements, no sharp and witty remarks nor a response to react to her words. She forced herself to look him in the eye and understand his body expression. To her surprise, Torchwick looked somewhat lost in thought, as if relaying what he had been accused of and now he was trying to think of the possibilities of what may have happened had he never chosen the life of crime.

His bangs helped shadow his visible eye as his chin dipped down slightly and he began to fiddle with a loose thread or something on his trousers. What was he thinking now? Did he feel bad? For his sake, Ruby hoped he did.

There came a sudden grunt. The corners of Torchwick's lips tweaked upwards, almost as if he was... _laughing_ at her. His shoulders were shaking as he lowered his gaze and Ruby began to grow rather irritated with his choice of action. _Why wasn't he taking this seriously? Is everything a joke with him? _Ruby balled her hands into tight fists.

"Tch, kids, you're all the same naive and juvenile little delinquents," he murmured, easing a few fingers through his fiery orange hair at the back of his head that was a little uneven. He seemed to take a deep breath before looking up with a straight face. "Yes, I stole a lot of Dust. Yes, I was gathering said Dust for Cinder. Yes, the apocalypse is somewhat my fault but you have no clue of the full story sweetheart." His eye glazed over with a sheet of ice that it made Ruby shudder.

"I said don't call me sweetheart you thieving little rat."

He smirked at that. "And if you haven't noticed, _Red_, I'm sitting in a prison cell with you."

Ruby shot him a glare, wishing she could fold her arms in a huff had her arm been in better shape. "Yes, and I asked you about it. What are you doing here Torchwick?"

The smirk refused to leave his lips and instead he seemed livelier, choosing to stretch his arms out upwards and yawned.

"This is getting rather tiresome. So tell me Red, how bad is it out there?" he leaned back against the bars almost too casually that Ruby wanted to shake him to his senses and force him to tell her how he survived that day. But by diverting the subject of their conversation, she could barely even get an answer and he knew it annoyed her.

_Why is he avoiding the topic? _

"Hey!" she tensed at the familiarity of the phrase. "Just answer the question!"

Torchwick merely chuckled and waved his hand as if to swat a fly. "Persistent... That still hasn't changed since the first time we met."

An image of the day outside _From Dust Till Dawn _over two years ago flashed in Ruby's mind. She shook herself harshly as if to shake the memory away.

"And you're still the wimpy thief running away when the going gets tough," she smirked at long last, pleased to see him flinch and glare in response. "If it weren't for Cinder, I would have taken you out that day itself."

He seemed to think about it and nodded. "Perhaps. But you see Red, you forget that if it wasn't for that meddling huntress, you'd have blown up into smithereens." His lips curled up into a conceited satisfied smirk. It sunk in that it was possible, seeing as he had the Dust crystals and in the end he would have used them against her. She was still a little foggy back then on the importance and powers of Dust crystals.

"I'd rather have died fighting than to run away with my tail between my legs."

"I do so enjoy these conversations but I'm beginning to miss the idea of being alone in a cell," Torchwick puckered a dark brow, turning his face away to analyse their prison.

"You won't have to wait long. I'll be getting out of here."

"I'm going to enjoy watching you try kid."

Somehow, she didn't like his tone, there was something condescending about it and her worst fear would be if he had been speaking the truth. She glanced back to the rusting bars that were punctured into the stone concrete brick walls that enclosed them in this space. The lock itself would require a key but perhaps she could try kicking it. It would have to give way at some point.

With a defeated sigh, she looked back at the empty bottle of water that she had thrown away and regretted drinking the entire contents. She should have saved some, arguing with Torchwick tired her out and now her throat was complaining.

"Water won't come so easily Red." She looked up to see him smile half-heartedly. "It'll be a while before we get anything more."

Ruby traced back on his words and paused.

"_We?_"

Almost as if he had just said something he shouldn't have, Torchwick lost the smile and turned his eyes away, mumbling something under his breath that she couldn't make out. He seemed to stiffen.

"It is not of import."

_No, wait. What did he mean it would be a while before they got anything? _Her eyes flickered warily to the empty water bottle, studying its battered plastic. Then it dawned on her like thick and heavy rocks, weighing onto her shoulders. It came to her attention that they were in what was once a one-man cell,with the single thin mattress under her and the blanket on her lap. _Only one water bottle._

Ruby looked up with wide and open eyes, traumatized for the first time that day, at Roman Torchwick with his hidden face, his rigid body and shifting eyes. Something tightened around her heart, twisting it painfully that she felt like she couldn't breathe. The steady beating of her pulse began to quicken.

How did she not notice it before? She just assumed the water was provided for her by Cinder...

"Hey."

Her voice was weak and echoed, seemingly louder than it sounded. The atmosphere became tense as if the walls of the cell were closing in on her. Still, Torchwick didn't look up, keeping his chin down and picking at his gloves like he hadn't heard her call to him. But he was listening.

"Did you give all of this up, for me?"

That sounded wrong. _Way too wrong. _He seemed to notice too and looked up in bemusement.

"What the hell are you talking about?"

Her cheeks inched a degree higher, suddenly feeling stupid for saying anything. She stumbled on her words but quickly tried to correct them.

"T-That's not what I mea- I meant, _this,_" she gestured to the blanket, the bedding underneath her and the pointed to the plastic bottle across the floor ", did you give your things to me?" Her voice was shaking now, she hoped he wouldn't notice. She was petrified of the answer.

That awful gut feeling that he had stirred up some kind of emotion inside of her. Maybe because it was hard to even believe that he actually had a selfless side to him. He always acted in his gentlemanly manner but that was all an act, wasn't it? The idea of him ever showing compassion was enough to make anyone recoil from repulsion. Roman Torchwick was the bad guy. Bad guys aren't considerate of others, especially not their enemies.

Torchwick took a few seconds, probably trying to come up with a suitable answer that would prove her right, that he really was selfish. He hadn't given up anything for her, like he would think to bother about her well being.

At long last, he sighed and chuckled uneasily making Ruby narrow her eyes in doubt.

"Technically speaking, they aren't _mine_." He shrugged it off so casually and the knotted feelings in Ruby's stomach began to twist around uncomfortably even more. "But," he sighed once again, stretching his arms again and stifled a groan, "I suppose you could say that I'm _sharing,_ these things with you."

_No. He wasn't supposed to say that. _ Ruby straightened her form, suddenly eager to ease her racing mind.

"You're lying! Don't try to prove yourself to be the nice guy here. I know you Torchwick, you don't have the heart."

His face became grave, the one eye suddenly iced over with a layer of bitterness and hostility. Somehow it stung Ruby, piercing through her. She was in denial, she knew that. He had never looked more intimidating. His jaw hardened as he swallowed, she could see the movement behind his little scarf as he did. She meant every word.

It felt like hours, sitting in the silence before Torchwick made a move. He hadn't removed his icy glare from her face and instead he shifted, bringing himself to stand up. Ruby eased back in her position even though she knew he was still a good few metres away. Now that she had a somewhat good view of him standing, she noticed how much of a difference his hat and cane had made. Torchwick was hardly a threat without them, he looked too vulnerable. Normal even.

He raised his nose slightly, as if he were looking down on her. "When you have nothing left to lose, you begin to lose yourself."

The words were frighteningly daunting. Ruby felt an overwhelming wave of chills engulf her body. What did he even mean? He always spoke in riddles that it was maddening. Her eyebrows furrowed together, feeling her skin crease on the bridge of her noise.

She had to say something.

But once she opened her mouth, the echoing sounds of footsteps drowned out her words. Dread piled up inside her gut, creating endless nerve-racking knots in her stomach because those footsteps, were far too familiar. Her attention was snapped up by the darkness behind the bars, to the passageway that led to the exit from their cell. Torchwick too, seemed to have frozen, turning his gaze whilst grinding his teeth against each other, waiting for whoever was coming.

The sharp echoes of glass sounded across the passage, its familiar - _Clink. Clink. Clink._

Ruby felt her throat dry up, her heartbeat raced so fast until she could feel her pulse in her eardrums. Sharp feelings of anxiety stabbed at her stomach as she gripped onto her blanket.

_Clink. Clink. Clink._

Before even a shadow could appear, the first detail to take in was the ever-radiant orange and yellow glow of _her _markings. And worse, as Ruby forced her eyes to trail upwards, she was faced with a pair of glowing amber eyes, fire burning within them.

_Cinder Fall, had arrived._

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><p><strong>Excite! <strong>

**I hope Roman was 'in character' enough o.O RWBY episodes aren't long enough to get to know the character's really well :-( only downside.**

**Thank you for the reviews! They get me fired up :D**

**frik1000:** I swear I need to re-read my work at least a hundred times. That line does sound horrible now! Sorry! Also I'm so used to writing 'the World' in normal stories that I subconsciously referred Remnant as 'the Remnant'. I'll do my best to avoid this! Thank you for the praise! What happened in Remnant will be revealed chapter by chapter instead of all at once :-)

**GateMasterGreen: **Thank you for reading and for the lovely comment! I hope my story can prove to be some form of entertainment for non RomanxRuby readers.

**Foxtrot Agent 21: **Thank you, I'm glad you're so interested! :-) I'll update when I can but I won't give up on this story anytime soon! (Hopefully won't give up at all!)

**Thank you UNknown123 for your review too.**

**Til next time! Reviews are greatly appreciated! x**


	4. Perceptions

**Hey guys. I bring you the next chapter of Fire & Thorns! :-) Getting quite busy these days so I'll try updating as soon as I can. Thanks for reading and enjoy!**

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><p><strong>Chapter Four<strong>

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><p><strong>Perceptions<strong>

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><p>Seconds ticked.<p>

_Clink. Clink. Clink._

It came to a stop, finally. A pair of feet encased in delicate dark glass heels paused just at the rim of the light and darkness - enough to see the long slender pale legs that followed.

"Interesting." Her voice was like a glacier, cool yet sharp. "You're both still in one piece."

Ruby grimaced, pushing off the bunched up blanket on her laps, off of her legs. The instant feel of the chilly air replaced the warmth on her skin making it prickle with goose-bumps. The little hairs on the back of her neck arched up once more. Her first thoughts were of how disappointed Cinder sounded, she probably assumed that due to the hatred both she and Torchwick shared, one of them would have killed the other. Surprisingly, she too wondered why Torchwick was still alive. Why didn't she just strangle him while she had the chance?

She stood up, almost swaying from the weak and numb feeling built up in her stiff legs. _God, they ached. _But it felt good to finally be standing instead of lying down. At least now she was somewhat able to show a little intimidation. She had grown taller a fair bit since the last time she had seen Roman Torchwick.

Speaking of the devil, he was now staring right at her with guarded eyes though he looked a little hesitant to see her standing. What did he think she would do? Bang his head against the bars? Use him as a human weapon to thrash Cinder?

_Well, it was rather tempting._

"You won't be for much longer, I'll be sure of that," Ruby snarled, hating the incredulous smirk on Cinder's lips.

The witch let out a low cackle, starting off high pitched before suddenly cutting off to be replaced by a deeper and sterner tone. Her eyes were ablaze as she glowered at Ruby. "Your empty threats mean nothing to me," she leaned back satisfied. "In fact, I'm going to enjoy watching you rot with _that _scumbag."

"Harsh, and here I thought you actually liked having me around," said Torchwick, now easing up against the bars and looking out.

_How did he always manage to act so casual in tough situations?_

Cinder flinched, obviously not approving his humour. "You were just a tool, nothing more, nothing less. You're practically worthless Roman, how disappointing you turned out the way you did." Her voice was patronizing and it seemed to be affecting Torchwick in some way.

Ruby glanced at her nemesis to see him grip the bars suddenly, diving forwards until his face pressed up right against the rusty metal bars.

"_Grrr, _you'll get what's coming to you. You'll regret ever double crossing me!" The words resonated through the still air.

Ruby watched the spiteful smile appear on Cinder's lips as she folded her arms across her chest and stepped closer. The amber glow in her eyes intensified, almost as if she were about to attack. Ruby hesitated. If she attacked them here then there was no way either of them would survive. Then again, why was she keeping them alive in the first place?

_Wait, did he just say he was double crossed? _Ruby glanced back up in awe, suddenly peeking an interest in Torchwick for once. She never really uncovered the reason as to why Torchwick was prisoner here instead of working side by side with Cinder. She watched Torchwick grip his pale fingers around the bars, tight. Even from this position, she could see the slight tremble of his body, the stiffness in his visible muscles. He hated Cinder.

The question was, why?

"Oh Roman, you never fail to entertain me." Cinder stepped forwards. _Clink. Clink. Clink._

"Just what will you achieve by locking me up in here?"

Ruby felt the effort she had put in to speak. Her throat felt quite dry and again she regretted drinking all the water. But Cinder did stop in her steps, suddenly eyeing Ruby with interest. A perfect dark eyebrow arched. Then it dawned on her. She seized a gasp.

"You're after my semblance."

The horror when it was revealed that Cinder had formed a plan to steal their abilities - was brutal. No one saw it coming and neither one thought it to be possible. But Cinder had found a way – a way to extract their unique powers and use it to her own advantage. Blake lost hers. That's why she...

"Achieve?" Cinder repeated with thought. For a moment, Ruby had a fleeting feeling that she had been unprepared, having expected her to have died but then she saw the smile. "Not that it is any of your business, but there are lot of advantages for me to have you locked behind bars. Do get comfortable, you're going to be here for a while." She paused again and suddenly Ruby hated the expression on her face. There was darkness behind her words.

"That's _if, _you can survive that long anyway. As for your semblance, as useful as your speed is to you, I have no use for such a pathetic skill."

There was the catch. She was going to die in this cage, or Cinder was hoping for her to but she refused. Some way or another, she would find a way out of this prison and tear Cinder to pieces. At least her semblance was safe for the time being.

With a final smirk, Ruby watched alongside Torchwick as Cinder flounced off, the tail of her red dress swaying behind in tow until the darkness swallowed her once more. The tension in the atmosphere decreased and Ruby felt air fill her lungs with ease. She hadn't realised she had been struggling to breathe. She wrapped herself up in her cloak, inhaling the small fragrance of the outer world that lingered and felt a pang in her heart.

What would become of their Resistance? The surviving Huntsmen and Huntress's who were counting on her to bring back Professor Ozpin? And what about Yang...? She dreaded to think of the motionless figure lying in the white bed, unresponsive. Ruby's hands clenched tightly onto the soft material of her cloak. She had to get out. Her anger drove her to attack Cinder recklessly so it was her own fault. She had to get back.

Ignoring Torchwick, she took a deep breath and walked to the far back of the cell where the single mattress was thrown. Another thought crossed her mind.

_Torchwick must have slept there. _

Had the brute actually given up his small luxuries for her? She daren't look at him now. She continued to reach the flat stone wall where the mattress was lined up against it and faced the bars ahead of her. There was a good couple metre's between her current spot and the bars, if she could gather up her energy and focus, she could use her semblance to break through.

Torchwick seemed to have caught onto her plan and stepped in between her path.

"Whoa, hey Red, stop! Are you trying to get yourself _killed?!_" he raised both hands up, palms flat, eyes wide open.

"Move out of the way Torchwick." Ruby straightened her legs, they felt a little numb but it would have to do. She crouched slightly, one leg bag as she lowered her head down keeping her eyes up and focused.

"I told you, those bars are laced with something. They will fight off any form of attack that is thrown against it and that also means your speed kid."

"I'm going to get out of here and if you don't want to be crushed against those bars then I suggest you get out of the way."

Torchwick seemed to hesitate, fuming that his orders weren't being followed. He always would bring out a cigar in this kind of situation but she guessed he hadn't had the chance to smoke a few in a while. That explained the absent stink of burning cigars. Huh. Good riddance.

"You're crazy."

"Bite me."

Torchwick groaned. "For once can you actually listen to what I'm saying? You're going to get us both killed and quite frankly, I don't want to die yet."

Ruby frowned, wishing she could drone out his voice but she could still see him in front of her and worse, he actually looked anxious. Yes there was the risk but it was one she was willing to take. It wasn't like he had tested it himself. Those bars were going down.

"I said move!"

Silence.

Torchwick shrugged his shoulders, slapping his forehead. "Nice knowing you Red."

_Finally, _Ruby thought as he moved out of her path. Even if the dread was weighing down on her, she couldn't back out now.

Ruby closed her eyes, feeling her strength swimming around her body and focused. The warm feeling of power began to surge through her legs, slowly moving up to the rest of her body. With one hand firmly laid flat on the hard ground, she raised her head.

_Now or never._

With a confident expression, she opened her eyes and let out a sharp breath before taking off.

Within seconds she pierced her way through the air, feeling the overwhelming feeling of power surge through her veins. Even in the small space, she could feel the draft behind her from the whirlwind that followed. Her cloak wrapped around her, twisting with her body as she dove head-first right into the bars.

The first thing she felt was the scorching currents of electricity being zapped into her, burning her inside out. It felt like she hit a wall made of diamond. Hard, and solid. Something trapped her. She couldn't move her body and the sharp feeling of wires circling her body cut into her from all angles. She cried out in agony. It was excruciating.

Then it faded briefly. Just for a moment.

Something warm wrapped around her body, yanking it back. She could feel the currents pulling her back in, trying to torture her even further but whatever was stopping it, was strong and reluctant in letting go. Whatever it was, she prayed it didn't stop. Ruby had long blocked out everything, feeling only the brutal burns of electricity trying to pierce her flesh.

"_Come on Red! Fight it!_"

A voice. _His voice. _Ruby's vision blurred but the screaming didn't stop. The pulling continued and something was being murmured behind her but she couldn't understand. All there was... was pain.

* * *

><p>When did it stop? When did she black out? What happened?<p>

Ruby groaned, opening one eye after another slowly, blinking profusely when the scenery finally came to view. God, her body ached worse than before. But she couldn't move.

"What the..." she raised her head to see an arm draped over her torso, pinning her down. Something was pressed into her right side. Her eyes widened in horror. "_T-Torchwick?!_" she gasped.

_What is he doing on top of me?! _

She tried to pull herself free but felt the searing aches kick in when she moved. Wincing and hissing out in pain, Ruby took even breaths before looking up to see the bars. It all came to her then.

She had attempted to break through the bars even after hearing Torchwick's warnings not to. As much as she hated to admit it, she should have trusted him. Why else would he still be here after all? It felt like her head had been through a cyclone because it pounded against her skull and throbbed. The bars hardly seemed to have a scratch, remaining it's deceiving rusty looking self as usual. Were they really laced with magic or Dust? And if so, how the hell was she going to break out from here?!

Her eyes drifted to the walls with hope, in search for a crack or some form of indent which marked it as weak and vulnerable enough to break through.

_Nothing._

Her heart gave out a small cry. Helplessness seemed inevitable and what's worse is that she could actually be trapped here until she died. She would never make it back to the Resistance, to Yang and Weiss, to her friends.

_What would Uncle Qrow say in this kind of situation? What would Mom have done?_

Bad idea. Just thinking of her deceased mother and dear uncle, who was thankfully still alive and well, made her feel worse. She would never get to see him again...

"I'm so stupid..." she whispered to herself. Tears threatened to fall but she forced herself to keep them in. She couldn't give up yet.

Ruby looked back down to the unconscious form beside her – or partly on top, depending how you looked at the situation. How could she have forgotten? As she raised a hand to shake him off, she froze mid way.

The unkempt tuft of his bright orange hair was visible, his usual bangs brushed aside to cover the one eye. _He was so close it was terrifying. _But even then... Ruby narrowed her eyes closely on his face.

_His eyelashes really are that long..._

"What the hell am I thinking?" she shook her head quickly. "H-Hey! Get up!"

She pushed at his arm that seemed to have snaked its way around her torso, but if she tried lifting her body to pull free, his head was still pressed into her side. On top of that her body felt half scorched and even she could see the defects on her clothes. Charcoal marks where something had burned its way through leaving a few minor smudges.

She remembered the electrifying currents attacking her body –had the bars retaliated against her semblance? But then it had a hold on her, forcing all the air to leave her body and inflicting pain. She quivered at the thought. _Then what? _Something grabbed her and pulled her away, or tried to, and succeeded.

_Torchwick._

Her stomach dropped. Yes, she had heard his voice somewhere in the midst of the torture, she heard him and he helped her.

Ruby sharply turned to look at the immobile figure beside her, the relaxed expression on his face. The scuff marks evident and by the look of things, even he took a beating.

_Why? Why does he continuously help me when he knows we're enemies? Have I been seeing him wrong- No. He is a thief. He caused great harm in the past. He would always be a hindrance, so why this act of kindness? What is he hiding behind that gentleman act?_

She had to find out.

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><p><strong>Hm. Yeah. Let me know what you think.<strong>

**Next chapter should be up soon!**

**Thank you frik1000 for your review :-)**

**Til next time!**


	5. Desolation

**End of September is always so stressful. Sigh. Here's the next chapter and it's a pretty long one so I hope that satisfies you guy for a while! I'll update as soon as I can! Enjoy!**

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><p><strong>Chapter Five <strong>

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><p><strong>Desolation<strong>

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><p>"Damn it, Torchwick, wake up!"<p>

How many times had she called out to him now? Still, he remained unconscious, arm pinning her torso to the ground and head pressed into her side – which was getting rather uncomfortable now. Ruby could feel the warmth of his body heat, whatever was left of it, radiating into her own. The idiot wasn't waking up.

_Wait... was he...? _Ruby snapped her head down, wincing when the pain arose, and focused on Torchwick's face. His pale skin seemed paler but right now she was looking for signs of breathing. _Why the hell did he even pull me back? _She cursed silently, trying to use her free arm and reach over their entangled bodies to the bridge of his nose. Her body screamed for her to stop moving but she ignored it.

She lowered her shaky hand, feeling the faint brush of his flyaway strands of hair swipe past her fingers. _Soft. _She shook her head and proceeded to bring her fingers just under his nose, keeping careful to avoid touching his skin.

_One. Two. Three. Four. Five._

Ruby sighed in relief. There was a weak feel of air being blown onto her numb fingers but he was breathing. _Unfortunately. _Well, that was that. Now what was she supposed to do? She didn't exactly welcome to the idea of sharing body heat, no matter how cold the cell was. He had a strange smell too.

_Kind of like cinnamon. _

"I hate cinnamon," Ruby mumbled to herself.

"That's a shame..."

Ruby jolted in alarm, feeling like her skin had left her body. His voice came like a husky whisper but it was clear. She looked down quickly to see one slanted green eye looking up at her deviously, a lopsided grin on his lips as he blinked. Ruby swallowed, inching her face back. Her heart began to pound.

"_Uagh__! _You're awake!" she almost screamed. The bastard.

Torchwick rolled his eyes and let out a sigh. "Really kid, you need to control that loud mouth of yours. My head is killing me."

Anger bubbled to the surface of her skin. Ruby felt herself flush with rage. The nerve of the guy! "Hey!" What else was she supposed to say? She was alive thanks to him but she wouldn't admit that openly. He would enjoy it too much. "Can you get off me already?" she snapped.

Torchwick groaned, making eye contact with her. He didn't look too pleased. "That's the thanks I get for saving your life?" he scoffed, craning his head up and hissed when something pained.

She knew he would come to it eventually. Now what was she supposed to say?

"I'd like to say I told you so Red, but I just don't have the energy."

Why wasn't he moving already?

"I didn't ask you to save me." It came out more bitter than she'd intended but it was the truth. She didn't look forward to being indebted to the man who was partly responsible for the deaths of innocent people.

There was silence. It droned on like a bad history lesson but sure enough, she felt herself being free from the weight across her torso. She watched as Torchwick pushed himself up with one arm, practically lingering above her head now. His eyes were closed and his long bangs hung down, revealing the second eye behind it. He was grinding his teeth, almost like it was agonizing to get up. He had scuff marks on his skin and even now she could see his arms had a few burns.

_He really is hurt. _

Ruby felt her already dry throat tighten, and she bit her bottom lip. Guilt was such a horrible feeling. When she looked up again, she was staring directly into two green irises, shadowed over by some kind of darkness. Torchwick narrowed his eyes down at her intensely that she felt her heart stop. When had the atmosphere become so icy?

Without warning, Torchwick looked away and moved off. She watched as he shuffled back leaving almost a metre of space between them. The sudden feeling of being empty and hollow dawned on Ruby. Cold air seemed to attack her again, wrapping her in an icy sheet. _Alone._

_Everyone leaves me._

"You know what Red?" Torchwick's sudden voice shook her awake. His tone of voice was cold, sardonic even. She looked towards him to see him clutch his upper left arm with his right hand, cradling it. His gaze was lowered so his bangs shadowed both eyes but she could see his lips moving clearly. "I think I preferred the annoying kid who stopped me from stealing from that Dust shop 2 years ago."

The words were like a sharp slap across her face and knives being thrust into her heart. It tore her apart and worse, she could understand where he was coming from. She sat up with great difficulty, feeling her back pressing against the cool bars that had once scorched her skin. Her tangled hair curtained her face as she looked down at her lap.

"You're not the only one..." she murmured to herself.

And that was the truth.

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><p><em>Hey Ruby, are you ok?<em>

_Do you want to patrol together?_

_Should I stay with you tonight?_

_I can get you something to eat if you'd like?_

_Stop being such a brat! You're not the only one hurting!_

_Ruby isn't herself right now..._

_When did she become so cold hearted?_

_We get she's upset about Yang and Blake, but that doesn't give her the right to treat us like crap._

Each and every one. She turned her back on everyone. Her friends. Her teachers. Her classmates. They all gave their support when Yang fell into a coma and when Blake... Still. They were right. She knew they were. Everyone else was just as torn up over the past events and she treated them like a piece of chewing gum stuck at the end of her shoe.

Why did she even think they needed her back there? They were probably overjoyed that she was gone. One less problem to deal with and she wasn't exactly a picnic to be around anymore. Yang was better off without her around to mope and pray she would wake up. She probably made it worse by being there anyway.

Everything was a mess.

A strange noise echoed around her and her chest constricted to a point where she couldn't breathe. Something warm and wet trickled down her cheeks. To her horror, she realised the noise was coming from _her_.

She was crying.

How long had it been since she last cried like this? Weeks? Longer? She felt like she was finally releasing all those pent up feelings of anger and anguish that had built up over the weeks. She finally realised just how _alone _she really was. Everything seemed meaningless. Why try to escape when there was nothing left for her out there? Someone else could easily take her place. Perhaps Weiss. She and the Ice Queen had always had their differences and there were times she thought she and Weiss could become as close as she was to Yang. But that proved to be untrue.

Her palms covered her face, gasping out sobs. Her chest hurt more than her body but she was grateful for it. What an insufferable person she had become! It made sense that she died in this cage alone.

"When you're done crying, you wanna talk?"

She almost stopped when she heard _his _voice. Her hands refused to move.

"Why- Why would I talk... _with you?_" she managed to sputter out. Her shaking voice was pathetic.

She could just see him rolling his eyes.

"I don't deal with crying kids, and seeing as we're stuck in this hellhole together with nothing to do, what's the harm in a little friendly chat?" he said, humour in his last words shining through.

Ruby wiped her face harshly, feeling the dampness on her cheeks and nose. She must have looked a sight. She needed a bath, badly but what were the chances of her getting one now anyway? When she finally looked up with sharp eyes, she saw Torchwick sat in his previous position. One knee up. Elbow rested atop. Tilted head with a stupid grin on his face.

"All right then. Why are you here in this cell?" she challenged, feeling the anguish leaving her mind as she was forced to forget.

He seemed to frown but didn't hesitate, for once. "I got caught by Cinder. _Ta-dah, _I'm here. Next question."

Was he trying to be funny?

"You mentioned earlier that she double crossed you. What happened? And what exactly did she promise you Torchwick?"

Now he hesitated. His eyes were guarded and shifted to the side as if he were thinking of a lie to replace the truth. This was Torchwick after all.

"Jeez kid, one question at a time."

"Stop stalling and answer them."

He grinned again. "How about this, an answer for an answer. You've asked me one question, I ask one in return. We go on. Everyone's happy." He did stupid hand gestures as he spoke though it must have killed his arms to do it.

A chill ran down Ruby's spine. The thought of what he could ask her was frightening but she could always lie as well. She straightened herself up and nodded. "Deal."

"Have you always been so annoying?"

"_Excuse me?!_"

Torchwick held up his hands in surrender, laughing it off. "Kidding! Well, not really but what I really-"

"You've asked your question. My turn."

"H-Hey wait! That wasn't a real question and you know it!"

Ruby turned her head away in a huff. "Tough."

She heard him groan and mutter curses. Somehow, she felt herself smile at the thought. It was like her crying moments ago never happened. How did _that _happen? She turned back to see Torchwick still mumbling and frowned at her.

"Well, you didn't give me an answer," he said with a sly smirk suddenly appearing on his lips, the green in his eyes glinting in the poor lighting.

She glared at him. He took the hint.

"Tch, whatever, ask me your question already." He leaned his head down against his arm. She caught the wince. Those burns on his arms must be hurting. As did hers. She tried to ignore this detail.

"What happened... that day?"

Silence. Then a sigh. From Torchwick. She concentrated on him so she would be able to tell if he was lying to her, which he seemed to be a pro at. He looked anywhere but at her, which made her wonder what he was thinking. He knew exactly what day she was talking about. That moment she truly believed she had defeated Roman Torchwick.

Just before the fall of Beacon, the Resistance was formed like someone had predicted the oncoming apocalypse and shortly the members were sent out to capture and find Cinder and her loyal band of followers. Roman Torchwick seemed to always make a getaway no matter how hard they tried to defeat him. Someone or another would always come to his rescue. And obviously, someone _had _that day else he would not be breathing before her right this moment. Ruby could still picture the memory fresh in her mind.

How the Resistance was able to discover a hidden batch of Dust being kept at a warehouse in Southern Vale. The mission was to recover the Dust, get out and come back to safety... only, that didn't happen. Not exactly. It felt way too easy - the information about Dust shipments being hidden at that warehouse reached their ears without any of them having to do much scouting. They prepared for a trap. And a trap was what they got.

Roman Torchwick and a group of his men were ready and waiting inside, already shifting the crates of Dust into their trucks. Hell broke loose. Havoc followed. Flames enslaved the warehouse and soon everyone fought to get out.

Ruby had been fighting alongside her team, when she had one, which led to her finally knocking Torchwick out cold when he was off guard. It was strange, he seemed less prepared that day, afraid even. The building was collapsing in on itself and Ruby was forced to leave Torchwick for the flames to swallow him like his name. She watched the building break down as if it was made of glass and someone had cracked it open from the top making the walls shatter and crumble down.

_He should have died. _

Ruby looked up, breaking out of her memories to see Torchwick in deep thought. That was the last she or anyone had ever seen or heard from him. Now he's here, in this prison with Cinder as his enemy just as much as her own. He practically had no one now. No one to rescue him.

_Alone in this cell... possibly for two years since the incident, how did he manage? How is he still sane?_

A twisting ache developed deep in her chest and Ruby had no idea what it meant. Perhaps sympathy for the pathetic man she loathed so much. He looked helpless, especially in front of Cinder earlier. Ruby swallowed, feeling her dry throat which reminded her again, that there was no more water.

_Ugh. _

"Lovely day that was, truly," Torchwick says, startling her with his sudden voice. She watched him brace a casual expression. _Great, he's going to lie. _"After you so kindly left me there to _die_," he shot her a glare before continuing. Ruby didn't flinch. "I eventually woke up to see one of Cinder's lap dogs breaking out from the ground. Next thing I know, I'm out cold again and wake up to this glorious chamber of mine." He gestured to the cell they were sat in.

Ruby furrowed her eyebrows together. So that's how he got out, but that didn't explain why he was locked up in here. If Torchwick was carrying out a heist for Cinder that day, surely that didn't leave any time for her to double cross him as he accused earlier? Ruby glanced up sceptically, suddenly doubting everything he's told her.

"Why would Cinder lock you up in here? How did she even betray you if-"

She was stopped by a gloved hand raised up to silence her. A casual grin embraced his lips as his flop of hair brushed against his nose.

"Ah ah ah, your turn is over. My go now."

Ruby bit back her curses and drew in a pout. Why did she agree to this? "Fine," she said through gritted teeth. Torchwick looked satisfied, but the tilt of his head was intimidating not to mention it made her anxious. Just what was he going to ask her now? He wasted his first question, luckily.

"What happened to _you, _Red?"

His voice had lowered considerably, seriousness laced within his words. Ruby bit back a gasp and felt the formidable feelings of fear rise up again. He knew it affected her, she could see his malicious smirk as he watched with contentment at her suffering.

Shifting her eyes side to side, trying to come up with a response, Ruby trembled. What could she possibly answer to that? _How _could she answer that?

"I mean, everyone knows not to attack head-on alone against an army. That was pretty stupid on your part. Where are your little sidekicks?"

The words cut through Ruby deeply. Flashes of her past whizzed through her mind and voices echoed in her ears. Screams and cries for help. _Yang. Blake. _Her head fell down so her chin touched her chest. The hollow feeling inside her broadened and the pain only intensified. She acted recklessly that day because she was angry. Angry for everything Cinder had done to her and the innocent people in Remnant. _So many lives lost. _

Torchwick let out a brief chuckle. "Your little band of chicks were always a thorn in my side. Especially that Kitty in your group, she always managed to get a blade on my neck more times than I can count. Still have no idea how. You should have brought her along."

"Blake is dead."

She didn't know what compelled her to say it. She didn't know how she managed. Most of all, Torchwick didn't deserve to know that. Her voice was cracked, on the brink of breaking completely. She became very still, slowly breathing in.

_Tick. Tick. Tick._

Time passed. The seconds of silence were too long and somehow Ruby begged for Torchwick to say something. Anything. His stupid jokes would even help but she wanted to forget everything. She should be crying but her eyes were dry, stiff from the tears that had dried from earlier. How many times had she cried for Blake? Too many. Maybe she had no more tears to shed. Her heart had iced over. It didn't settle the heavy ache inside it.

"Well, this is awkward."

Perhaps not. She hated his voice now. She couldn't deal with his insensitive comments even though she should expect nothing sincere to leave his mouth. Why would he care? He was their _enemy _for god's sake, he would never sympathize with petty things that didn't involve him. How would he have felt, being there that day when Beacon finally fell at the hands of Cinder Fall? When Blake was captured, defenseless and Ruby was there to watch her cry out her name as the life was squeezed out of her? Or when innocent students died after having their semblance and powers drained from them? How could anyone understand the torment she went through everyday knowing she failed to save one of her best friends?

Blake who was always so cool and collected. Blake who became like a sister to her. Blake who she had met on her first day at Beacon.

Cinder took away everything.

And Ruby became reckless, which worried her friends and sister Yang. It was her fault her own sister was in a coma now. She fought to protect Ruby, to protect everyone. Ruby waited for the tears but nothing came. It was as if she had forgotten how to cry.

"I'd say sorry if I meant it. Stupid thing to apologize for really. It's like saying s-"

"_Shut up!_" Ruby gritted her teeth against each other, suddenly furious as she looked up to stare Torchwick in the eye. He blinked in surprise. "Just stop, okay? I don't want to talk anymore." Her voice broke at the last word and she curled up, ignoring her body that protested against the idea. She welcomed the pain. She hid her face deep within her arms as she drew her knees up to her chest.

"But we were getting to the good part!" he retorted with a whine sounding almost like a child. Ruby looked up briefly to shoot him a furious scowl.

He laughed it off nervously, raising both hands. Ruby dropped her head back into her arms and waited for death to finally take her. She was beginning to feel her hunger weigh down on her too.

"Do you want to know why I'm here, or not?"

Taken aback, Ruby raised her head and blinked. She was in no mood for his cocky attitude and lies but Torchwick had lost all signs of his irritating absurdity and now looked serious. Completely. She couldn't work out whether he was pleased with the idea but she couldn't let this chance pass. Instead, she lowered her arms and straightened herself up, ready to digest all information.

Torchwick released a sardonic grin. "_Hn, _just look at you, looking as if I'm about to read you a bedtime story. Too bad," he whispered the last words bitterly before closing his eyes.

After what seemed like an eternity, Torchwick finally moved his lips and formed words.

_About freaking time._

"I wasn't expecting you and your little army of pests to turn up at that warehouse."

_Wait, what? _Ruby felt her eyes widen as she realised he was talking about _that _day. When she left him to die. Could it be true? Was that why he looked afraid that day when they fought? She didn't understand anything. She looked to Torchwick for more answers. His eyes narrowed and looked to the side, away from her.

"I was simply sent to collect the Dust then bring it to Cinder. What she _didn't _tell me was it was all a ruse, a plan forged to eliminate _me_." He finally looked back at her, a fire ignited within his green iris as his dark eyebrows furrowed down. His jaw was taut, she could see it from here. "She knew about your Resistance discovering the Dust at the warehouse, in fact, she made it pretty easy for you to find it."

Ruby was shell shocked. This was news to her. She _knew _it had been too easy and all this time they all believed it to be a trap for them, when in reality, Cinder had set them up against each other in hopes Torchwick would be killed.

"But why, Torchwick? Why did she want you dead? It just doesn't make any sense!" she cried out, noticing how shaky her voice had gone.

Torchwick merely scoffed. "Probably due to the fact that I had found out her little secret." A smirk replaced his pursed lips.

"What secret?" Ruby was probably looking overeager but something told her that whatever this secret was, then it would benefit her greatly. If it was so big that Cinder went as far as to set Torchwick up and have him killed, it must have been big. But didn't she trust Torchwick?

"Eager, aren't you Red?" said Torchwick, arching one eyebrow up in amusement. Ruby felt her face warm and looked away. He sighed then, groaning a little after. "I'm afraid that story time is over."

Ruby jerked forwards. "_NO. _You better tell me what this secret is Torchwick or I'll-"

"You'll _what?_" he snapped, suddenly patronising. His eyes narrowed into slits, danger lurking behind them.

Ruby felt the frustration. How irritating he was! He would give half of an answer then leave you hanging. She had to find out what this secret was and find a way to tear it out of Torchwick. Speaking of the devil, he was now grinning to himself, obviously pleased that he had achieved to annoy her, laying down on his back, grumbling curses as his body protested. She had to smile at that.

But even still... there was _that _particular question. She bit her bottom lip and sneaked a glance to see the thief humming to himself quietly. Odd but made sense in this cell.

"Hey, Torchwick..." she called out, noticing how quiet her voice had gone. She heard him groan.

"Questions are over kid, sleep or something."

She didn't feel sleepy. That's all she had been doing since she got here practically. But she was desperate to know. Her eyes fell to the rusty bars behind her as she remembered the way something warm pull her back away from the searing pain of the currents. Something held on when she just wanted to let go. Ruby took a deep breath.

"I want to know why-"

She was interrupted then. Torchwick had even sat up, looking startled. Both of them exchanged glances before turning their heads in direction to the passageway where the shadows lay. There were footsteps. Loud thumps against the concrete as they walked slowly. Ruby was almost relieved. She had half been expecting that typical _clink _of Cinder's heels rattling across the ground.

From the shadows emerged a familiar figure that made Ruby turn as still as a statue. There, in his black and gray attire, standing wordlessly without any remorse on his face - _Mercury. _A step behind, another figure stepped out. _Emerald. _

Ruby narrowed her eyes spitefully in their direction at once. Right now, she held more hatred for them than she had for the man she was sharing the cell with. Those two scumbags ruined Beacon from the inside, they forged a fake friendship with her and her friends only to reveal themselves as Cinder's subordinates gathering tidings on them just before the big battle. They fed Cinder details about students with the most powerful semblance's. They were despicable.

Ruby grabbed hold of the bars. "_You two!_" she snarled through gritted teeth.

"Hello, Ruby."

"_Don't_," Ruby hissed through gritted teeth. "Don't even say my name. You traitors!"

It was Mercury who laughed with Emerald smiling in amusement. She raised a finger to her chin and pretended to be thinking.

"Hm, theoretically, we were never your friends so I suppose that doesn't make us traitors. Right Mercury?" she turned to him.

Mercury nudged her lightly, innocently agreeing as if they had done nothing wrong. Ruby felt her blood begin to boil and at that point she didn't care if her body was in severe pain, she would give anything to bust out and rip their heads off with her scythe. The rough metal of the bars dug into her skin deeply as she squeezed tighter.

"You lied to us. We did nothing but offer our friendship and you threw that back in our faces!" Ruby could feel her voice on the brink of breaking down but she had to keep it together.

Mercury looked surprised. "_Oh. _Strange, I don't recall ever asking for your friendship."

Ruby felt like a bucket of ice cold water had been thrown over her. Her body shivered as she bit down hard. "Please, Mercury..."

She heard him groan. "Oh don't beg. It's so unattractive in a woman." He paused. "Well, I guess you don't really classify as a woman, right?" he sneered, turning his nose up with pride.

Ruby felt her cheeks heat up at the insult but her anger refused to reside. What could she possibly say? All she wanted to do was bash their heads together but she was trapped. Just remembering the past killed her. She and her friends bumped into Cinder's little group after the night Ruby first bumped into them. They were even in her classes. She assumed they were there for the Vytal festival, oh how wrong she was.

It was her own fault for being so naive. She hated the girl she was, thankful that had changed. She would never trust anyone ever again. She allowed herself to grow close to Mercury and Emerald. She enjoyed watching them both tease and annoy each other like best friends, their banter was always great entertainment. It was clear now that they were both close partners in crime.

_Cinder's pawns._

"What do you gain by following Cinder around like dogs?" she said before she could think.

That snagged their attention all right. Both of them suddenly lost their smiles and grins, eyes darkened and sharp. Both turned to glare at her – Emerald looked ready to cut her throat. Ruby couldn't help it. She smirked.

Mercury put out an arm to stop Emerald. "Don't," he told her, throwing Ruby a dirty glare. "I'd keep that pretty little mouth of yours shut if I were you."

"_Hah, _seems to me like you're too scared to attack me. Afraid that you'll upset your master and miss out on getting your bone? I bet she's sick of you two hanging around her like a _rash._"

"Why you...!" Once again, Mercury was the one to hold back Emerald as the sharp sound of her blades being pulled out rippled through the still air. Ruby smiled in satisfaction. Though she aimed to break Mercury, she was somewhat glad it was Emerald who was more affected.

A low throaty chuckle came from behind Ruby as they looked back to see Torchwick's shoulders shaking as he laughed, sat casually as if he were watching TV.

"You got quite the mouth Red, I'm impressed."

Ruby turned her gaze away, ignoring him.

"But you got to admit, she has a point. I always saw you as Cinder's personal mutts. Tch, fleabags."

Something sliced past an inch away from Ruby's cheek leaving a trail of wind and the shrill of something metal hitting a wall from behind her. Eyes widened, Ruby turned her face to see a silver dagger jammed into the wall which Torchwick was leaning against, an inch away from his face, brushing against his orange bangs.

He looked surprised for a moment before relaxing with a smile on his lips. His head tilted to the side mockingly.

"Really kids, you need to work on your aim. Hasn't Cinder trained you for that?" he uttered casually without an ounce of fear in his voice. He picked out the dagger and started twirling it around his hands. The movement had them all silent.

_How does he do that? _Ruby thought to herself, amazed at his behaviour. So it seemed he had a vendetta against the traitors just as much as she did. Terrifying how much she and Torchwick had in common now. She yet to uncover why Cinder wanted him dead though.

"You're one to speak, you weren't so smart to know you were being fooled," Emerald snapped, straightening up after throwing the dagger. Her red eyes were ablaze, fired up with pride. But her patronizing tone reached Torchwick's weak spot as he snarled in retaliation. It was that same kind of throaty growl he made when he was furious.

Ruby couldn't stop staring at the dagger.

_They had a weapon. _Sure it was small and probably wouldn't do much damage but they had _something. _Maybe they could use it to gut Cinder whenever she made her next appearance.

"Whatever, we haven't come here for chit chat. Grubs up," said Mercury, scoffing a little in amusement for some odd reason.

His slate eyes were dancing, enjoying himself. What was going to happen now? Ruby narrowed her eyes, easing back away from the bars. Her eyes met Mercury's and for a moment, she felt she could really try to talk him round. His eyes looked sincere but after a second they looked away. Ruby felt another hole being punctured inside her.

He gestured a small bow as a member of the White Fang walked out from the shadows carrying what looked like a tray. Her eyes caught the plastic bottle and perked up. _Water. _But what if, this time, it really _was _poisoned?

Sure enough, Torchwick didn't seem too worried. In fact, he looked a little agitated and occupied with his thoughts. The anger from moments ago disappeared leaving a brittle face. Ruby felt her insides freeze over as a horrible feeling began to knot up in her stomach. Something was wrong, or something bad was about to happen.

The little space at the bottom corner of the cell had its own door, too low for even a cat to fit through but wide enough for the tray to be pushed in. Ruby followed the tray with her eyes as it landed between Torchwick and herself.

The water bottle was filled to almost half way. _Huh, how generous, did she forget that there are two of us in here? _

At that horrid thought she remembered how she chugged down the water given by Torchwick. Her hands almost flew to her mouth. _Oh god, did he drink from that water bottle too?! I think I'm going to be sick. _The nausea piled on in her stomach and she turned to glare at Mercury and Emerald who were murmuring amongst themselves and smirking with satisfaction.

Besides the water bottle, there was a stale looking chunk of bread, _an apple_, gloriously red and clean. Ruby never felt more shocked on seeing a fruit. She hadn't seen or eaten an apple in months. Or any kind of fruit to be honest. Most of their harvest was destroyed or taken by Cinder's army. Her stomach twisted as she recalled her past school food fights.

_So much food gone to waste._

They all regretted it, of course. No one expected an apocalypse like this. The pain swirled inside of her as she pushed aside her happy memories of her friends.

There was even a couple nuts. Even food back at the Resistance camp was better than this. Minus the apple.

She could see Torchwick staring at the tray, eyes narrowed and didn't meet her own. Could they share it between them like civil people? _Hah, unlikely. _She would have to prepare to battle for her food.

"Well, enjoy. This is your first and last free meal," Emerald informed her, the ends of her lips curled up.

_Free meal? What the hell did that mean? _

She was interrupted in her thoughts when she heard movement from behind her. Torchwick was pushing himself up, dagger in his hands as he tried to keep his pain hidden. She could see it in his face. His body, clad in black except for his stupid scarf around his neck, was up and standing. Ruby felt her eyes widen in horror.

She hadn't really noticed it before but now she could see clearly – the burns, the bruises and scuff marks all over his body. His bare toned arms were covered with them. How is he managing? There were small holes in his t-shirt where something burned through, like her own attire. But he was standing strongly.

"You're forgetting this," he raised the dagger, his eyes derisive.

_What was he doing?! That was the only weapon they had! _Ruby opened her mouth to protest but Emerald got there first.

"Keep it. Think it as a pity gift, you'll need it after all."

Ruby didn't like the way she ended that sentence and eyed Torchwick carefully. He avoided her gaze again. They were hiding something, something she yet to uncover.

"Well this was a lovely reunion and all but I'm tired. Have fun," Mercury yawned, giving Ruby one last grin before walking off out of view. He slammed the door of hope on Ruby's face.

Emerald followed but not before giving Torchwick a knowing look. She looked... too happy. "Hey guard, you know what to do."

Ruby tensed up. The White Fang guard nodded and moved to the cell door and began to unlock it. Behind her, Torchwick seemed to shuffle closer to the door like he was preparing to leave. At that moment Ruby felt a horrifying feeling of loneliness. She was suddenly afraid to be alone. Even if she constantly wanted to wring Torchwick's neck, his causal words of complaint and relaxed behaviour made her forget they were in a tough predicament.

"Wait, where are you going?" she said almost too quickly.

Torchwick glanced back down at her and winked. "Don't miss me too much now."

Something cold struck at Ruby's heart. A deep feeling of emptiness and _fear. _On instinct, Ruby reached a hand and grabbed a handful of one trouser leg. Torchwick startled and turned to look at her, eyes wide and questioning.

Swallowing the lump in her throat and ignoring her shaking body, Ruby cleared her throat. "Where are you _going?_" she repeated, more sternly this time. The sounds of the cell door being unlocked stole her attention. _Maybe she could..._

"Don't even try kid, the guard has a detonation remote. One move and this place is blowing sky high with you and me with it. Stay here and eat like a good little girl." One end of his lips curled up.

_What? _Ruby glanced around the cell. Laced with magic – or Dust - and it would blow up if they tried to escape. No wonder Torchwick was still here. How the hell was she going to escape if this entire place was escape-proof?! The last fragment of hope she had diminished along with her will to fight. Everything was hopeless.

She slumped down in her spot, shoulders sagging as she took in everything.

She would never get to leave. Cinder won. Again. She would never see Yang again or her friends... And now Torchwick was leaving too. What was wrong with her?! So what if Torchwick left? She would've killed him at some point anyway. She wouldn't have to put up with his irritating self anymore.

"How touching. You look afraid Red. _That _worried about me?" Torchwick teased, smirking with pleasure.

Ruby felt herself stiffen, ignoring the feeling of her heart riveting against her ribcage. She glared in response, suddenly finding it difficult to insult him in some form. "D-Don't... _I hope you don't come back!_"

Why did her face feel all warm? This was ridiculous.

"Move it," came the gruff voice of the guard. Ruby looked up, freezing when she saw the guarded and sombre look in Torchwick's eyes. She swallowed.

"Your wish might just come true, Red."

Stunned, Ruby didn't respond. She watched as Torchwick walked out the cell slowly, not sparing a glance her way as he did. The cell door snapped shut then locked. The guard gave her a look of disgust before following Torchwick behind.

Ruby was left alone with nothing but the silence and emptiness of the cell as company. She glanced at the empty spot then the tray of food for her to eat. Her hunger long since vanished and deep down inside her, Torchwick's last words lingered... and now she hoped someone would actually come back through that cell door.

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><p><strong>Hope that gives you a little more insight on what is happening and on everything that has happened so far. :-)<strong>

**Let me know what you thought! Any theories on what will happen next? Where is Torchwick going hmmm...**

**Thanks so much to TheManOfVictory, frik1000, Foxtrot Agent 21, mistywind, Mr Ruffles and bowow0708 for the reviews, it means a lot! Glad you're all liking the story :-)**


	6. The Ugly Truth

**Wow I feel like it's been forever since I updated! Sorry guys! Past 2 weeks I think I took on every known disease in existence and I kind of injured my neck. So there was no more writing done or posting. I'm all good now so expect regular updates!**

**Also, you guys, great guessing! I won't reveal anything but those are very good guesses haha! I'm impressed. Anyway, hope you enjoy!**

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><p><strong>Chapter Six<strong>

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><p><strong>The Ugly Truth<strong>

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><p><em>One. Two. Three. Four. Five. Breathe in. <em>

_One. Two. Three. Four. Five. Breathe out._

_Repeat._

Spending time alone in the cell felt like an eternity. The silence was the worst. It nearly drove Ruby off the edge into insanity. There wasn't even a brief sound of the outside world, she was completely closed off. Isolated. Her mind wondered back to the thief. How on earth did he manage to survive here?

"Well, he acts insane half the time so maybe he wouldn't be affected," Ruby mumbled to herself.

She shook her head violently. "Stop thinking about him!" Unfortunately, it was easier said than done in forgetting about the frustrating orange haired thief that had left the cell earlier. It felt like hours since he departed with the guard for reasons she did not yet know, but he never answered her question. Where _had _they taken him? Did Cinder call him to be executed or something?

No.

If Torchwick was still alive all this time then Cinder wouldn't kill him off. Not yet. She obviously had something planned for the two of them else neither would still be breathing. Worse, she still yearned to know this 'secret' Torchwick had discovered making him a liability to Cinder. When he returned, she would drag it out of him.

_That's if he comes back._

There was that feeling again. That sickening feeling of her insides being squeezed to a point where she felt like throwing up. A dull ache rose in her chest and she felt as if the ground shook beneath her. The cell walls seemed to close in, getting smaller and darker after every passing second. Ruby curled up on the mattress, having drunk a couple sips of water, remembering this time to conserve some since apparently this was her last 'free meal.' She munched on some of the bread, relishing the taste of food.

She left the nuts and ate the apple last, savouring every bite. She was ravenous. The apple was fresh, juicy and delicious. Strange. She had been expecting it to be rotten to the core. She was still alive too. Interesting. Nice to know she wasn't being poisoned.

After spending a few moments resting, taking in the solitude, Ruby leaned back against the cold wall. Now she had a little more energy to burn though her wounds stung a little. She risked drenching the piece of material from Torchwick's scarf, pushing aside the fact he had actually been thoughtful enough to wrap it around her cut, and sacrificed a few drops of water before dabbing at her wounds.

Unbearable pain seared her crackled skin making her cry out. Her screams echoed through the halls but she was sure no one could hear it, she was alone. But it felt good after. The inflammation and revealed skin on her body seemed to reduce in the swelling.

"Stupid cell." She glared at the Dust laced bars, cursing them.

What would happen now? It was clear that breaking out was impossible. Those bars wouldn't allow her to damage them and the walls seemed to be made from diamond, not to mention it was prone to explosions. So now if she tried to break anything, this entire cell would blow up.

Death was something she wanted to avoid right now.

Ruby sighed dejectedly. What did that leave? Begging? Surrendering? She balled her hands into fists, shaking them. _No. I can't give up now. _Even if everyone back at the Resistance hated her, even if they didn't want to see her again, she would have to go back.

For Yang. For Ozpin.

She vowed to find him and that she would do. Cinder's head was still placed on her neck which needed to be removed. Her mind flashed to Mercury and Emerald – the traitors. For a fleeting moment she thought she and Mercury had a small understanding. She could see it in his eyes, some sort of guilt. Emerald was harder to decipher.

She sighed again, shrinking down in her spot. She fiddled with her cloak that now bore a few flyaway threads. Nothing major, it always did do well against physical attacks. She had her mother to thank for that.

She hadn't even visited her mother's grave in a while and the thought made her feel sick to the bone. How could she possibly die without visiting her one last time? This would not be something she wanted. But what were the chances of leaving here? Alive that is.

Her eyes scanned the closed off space, the dark corridors and eerie atmosphere. _What do I do Mom? _She thought, hoping some sort of voice would answer her back.

She pulled in her knees, wrapping her arms around them and rested her head against her legs. The cold forced its way inside her and she was shivering. Her eyes began to droop and soon, everything went black.

* * *

><p>"Get in there!"<p>

Ruby jumped up, wide awake. Her heart almost leapt out of her chest, hammering inside so fast that it could power 100 humans. _Or Faunus's. _

The gruff voice was from a guard and she heard the creak of the cell door being opened. She looked up to see the silhouette of someone coming inside, walking at an odd stance. When the light flickered, allowing her vision to improve, Ruby blinked with her mouth wide open.

There, walking through the cell door - was Torchwick. _But, he's hurt..._

More than before. That much was evident.

Appalled at the sight of him, she watched as he hissed, clutching one arm over his chest across one shoulder as he dragged himself in and collapsed to his knees. Something red stained his mouth.

Ruby froze, staring. _It's blood. _

The cell door rammed shut then was locked. Ruby followed the guard who had a smug grin on his lips as he grunted and turned his back on them and sauntered back out leaving them alone.

How long had she been out?

Throwing off the blanket and standing up, Ruby walked over slowly to the crouched figure on the ground. He was breathing deeply, hissing when he tried to move. Her eyes inspected his body. Those bare arms that were covered in burns and scratches seemed to have a few more fresh bruises. There was even a small cut that looked like it was done by a dagger.

_The dagger!_

"What happened?" her voice squeaked, still terrified. "Where did they take you?" she sounded eager now, desperate.

He didn't reply, only coughed violently, droplets of blood flew out. It was utterly gruesome but she could tell he was in no mood to joke around. For once she may just get a serious answer. But this... this was _atrocious_. Just what did they do to him? Would the same happen to her?

She glanced back at the bruised figure and recoiled. _What in Dust's name was happening here?_

She took a step forward but stopped when she heard footsteps.

_Clink. Clink. Clink._

Her heart stopped. Turning towards the bars, she could see the glowing eyes of fire and the markings floating in the shadows, closing in on them.

_Clink._

Cinder stepped into the light, revealing herself fully. The smile on her lips meant bad news. Ruby found herself on guard, a little more energy to spare. But that wasn't what had Ruby's attention because her eyes trailed down to Cinder's hand where a familiar silver dagger was gripped between her fingers.

"What did you do to him?" she spat with venom.

Cinder looked amused. "My my, don't tell me you actually _care_?" her voice was singing with delight as she laughed.

Ruby hesitated, sneaking a glance to see Torchwick still looking down and silent. She turned back to Cinder.

"I'm wondering if I should be aware of what's coming for me."

"Ruby, Ruby, Ruby," Cinder sighed out her name, shoulders dropping as she stepped closer. Ruby felt herself flinch. "I liked you Ruby, you showed great potential. It's a shame you chose to side with the wrong team."

Ruby snorted. "I can't believe you just said that," she narrowed her eyes and leaned her head forwards. "After everything _you did._"

Cinder's fiery eyes lit up with her face. She seemed to glow and was unaffected by anything. Ruby wished she could throw her into the fiery pits of hell where she belonged. But instead of responding to Ruby, Cinder turned her attention to the thief now groaning as he tried to sit up and lean against the wall. Ruby winced at the sight.

"Nice work Roman, and of course..." Cinder trailed off as she motioned to someone behind her to come forth.

Ruby stared with questioning eyes to see a guard come forth with a similar tray with a water bottle. He opened the small door from before and slid it through, landing just beside Torchwick's legs.

There was a new bottle of water but it was only filled quarter way. Hardly much if it was supposed to last a day. _Cruel. _But worse still, he had an even smaller portion of stale bread... and that was _it. _Ruby felt her mouth open in disgust. Did Cinder seriously think this would be enough? Clearly she was going to starve them to death at this rate.

Her eyes were glued to Torchwick, pitying him. As much as she hated the thief, no human should succumb to this kind of torture. This was far worse than the Resistance camp... even if there was an apocalypse.

"I can't wait to get out of here and take you down myself," Ruby murmured under her breath, locks of her hair shadowed her eyes.

"One can dream," was Cinder's brash reply. "I look forward to round two." The markings on her arms lit up with her eyes and Ruby could see the little flame sparked inside those devil irises.

She gave one last look of content at Torchwick before turning on her heel and walking back into the shadows. When Ruby was sure she heard the last of her glass shoes echoing, she turned to Torchwick, biting her bottom lip. Just what was she supposed to do now?

She watched him wipe his mouth with his wrist. If he had sleeves, the blood would have gone, instead his skin was stained with the red liquid. This wasn't a sight you see every day. Just what the hell happened to him? Dare she ask?

"_Ack... _You'd think I'd be used to it by now..."

"What?" Ruby jerked her head up, hearing him mumble something. To her surprise, he seemed to be a little more relaxed now, leaning back and brushing his bangs into place. There was a small bruise on his jaw, a blotchy purple-yellow mark that looked like it needed some ice.

Torchwick began to rotate his shoulders, stretching them and groaning in resentment. It didn't seem like he was going to talk to her anytime soon. His hands reached for the bottle of water on his tray, fingers outstretched as he tried not to move his legs. You could see the struggle.

Ruby stepped forwards to help but was stopped by a flat palm raised up.

Torchwick's green eyes were glazed over with darkness, guarded and bitter that it made her blood run cold. _What happened to his cocky attitude? He looks incredibly hostile. _He glowered for a moment, grinding his teeth together as if he were chewing granite.

"I can look after myself, stay away," he hissed, voice brittle and cracked. The acidic tone behind it made Ruby grimace as she tore her eyes away.

He was angry.

"Sorry for trying to _help_," she retorted, suddenly growing irritated at how much of an ingrate he was.

"I didn't ask for it."

She snapped her head back, suddenly flabbergasted by his change in attitude. _He hasn't changed. _Her eyes narrowed and she found it hard to restrain herself from strangling him. He managed to grab the water bottle and took a few sips, glaring at her from under the curtain of his eyelashes as he did.

The atmosphere between them was tense and too quiet. When he finally wiped his mouth, she kept note of the amount of water he had left. Mere drops but she supposed he needed it. His orange hair was more unkempt than before and she felt the need to brush it into place again.

_What am I thinking? _She shook the thoughts away and squared her shoulders.

"Tell me what happened. Where did they take you? What did Cinder mean? What did you do Torchwick?" the questions flew out of her mouth before she could stop herself.

He made that same sound of frustration, growling inwardly as he forced his gaze away from her.

"Tell me!" she cried out.

The bottle in his hand was crushed in an instant as he tossed it aside, eyes fired up and glaring at her scornfully.

"I don't need to tell you anything! Tch, just because we exchanged a few words before Red, it does _not _make us_ friends._" He all but stabbed those words at her, mustering up all his anger as he spat the last word out.

It struck at Ruby more than she thought. She knew that, she knew they weren't friends - that would be a joke. So why did she feel the dreary ache in her chest as soon he said it? Perhaps because now she knew for certain that they could never become allies, even in a helpless situation like they were in now. Torchwick didn't change, what did she expect? He was still the selfish and heartless thief he had always been.

All events up to now faded away in a flash. Her eyes dropped to the shred of his scarf in her possession, suddenly wanting to burn it.

She grabbed at it, yanking it out so hard she hoped it would rip. Then she crushed it in her palm though it did nothing but create creases in the fabric. Bundling it up into an uneven sphere, she then threw it like a javelin at his feet. His eyes immediately caught the motion.

"You're a cold hearted scumbag Torchwick. You're selfish and ungrateful. Doesn't surprise me that no one bothered to rescue you all this time! _Ugh_, _I hate you!_"

She turned away, charging back to her spot on the thin mattress and curled up under the blanket and her cloak. She pulled the hood up and kept her back to Torchwick. Deep inside, her heart was pounding painfully against her chest and she wished it could stop. Feelings of anguish and hurt trickled into her heart.

Her hands were tucked under her face as she stared into the wall.

As if things couldn't be worse. She thought it would be ok, even with Torchwick there. He helped her forget the real world for brief moments even if their conversations weren't exactly civil. Sure he was irritating as hell... but for an ounce of a second, she had believed that maybe Torchwick could be a potential ally.

She was wrong.

So. Very. Wrong.

He would never mend his ways no matter what was thrown at him. Whatever made him the brutal thief he was today, she cursed it. She cursed him too.

'_...just because we exchanged a few words before Red, it does not make us friends.'_

_We could never be friends._

And that was the ugly truth.

* * *

><p><strong>Sorry it wasn't as long as the last chapter. I'm trying! <strong>

**Let me know what you think! I'll update as soon as I can, it's all getting quite exciting now!**

**Caught up with the actual RWBY episodes and I'm so excited! New ep today and we FINALLY see Roman again - WITH RUBY. *screams***

**Anyway, huge thanks for the reviews! They made me so happy :D**

**Thank you Mr Ruffles, frik1000, Foxtrot Agent 21, bowow0708, rwbybomb21, AmutoSakuran1621 and onegracefulqueen. Means a lot!**


	7. Deal Or No Deal?

**I'm back with an update! Sorry for the wait, life is a little hectic right now *sigh* But I'm so pleased with your reactions from last chapter! RWBY V.2 Finale is today! Eek! Zomg last episode guys, Torchwick got FLOORED. LOL. Ah, but he was so charming. Neo was freaking KICKASS. Anyone else think that mystery woman was Yang's mom? I think so anyway. Gah. SO GOOD. Anyway, enough about me rambling on. Here's chapter seven. OH and guys, please read my notes at the end, it's important!**

**Okay, enjoy!**

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><p><strong>Chapter Seven<strong>

* * *

><p><strong>Deal Or No Deal?<strong>

* * *

><p>She would sleep. Eat a nut. Draw on the ground with her nails even though nothing could make a mark on those bricks. Maybe sneak a glance or two at the thief. Repeat.<p>

It was still freezing and her face felt numb as did the rest of her body. She wrapped her cloak around her tighter to conceal in as much as heat as she could. Both she and Torchwick hadn't exchanged a single word since their last encounter and the cell was cloaked into an uncomfortable silence. No one had come by to visit their cell. In a way, Ruby was relieved but the silence was slowly starting to get to her.

She glanced back over her shoulder to see Torchwick sprawled across the floor, asleep. His cheek was pressed up against the cold ground, arms folded over his torso limply. Ruby swallowed. He didn't have a blanket and that awful cut was sticking out like a Christmas tree. She wondered what happened to his coat.

Her eyes flickered to the fleecy thing, which was a poor excuse for a blanket, covering her own body and bit her bottom lip. _This must have been his. _As much as it made her shudder to think he would give it up to her – and _still _not claim it back – she was a little grateful. It gave her some warmth at least. Torchwick wasn't making any sense. How does someone have such an indecisive personality?

She should be seething with rage right now. The earlier thoughts hadn't left her mind, she was constantly reminded of her position as his nemesis and she should continue to think of him as an enemy despite their circumstances. She had purposefully brushed aside the relief she felt when she had seen him stumble back through the cell door. This cell was making her mad. His words shouldn't have affected her so deeply. Ruby swallowed her anger down and heaved herself up. Her muscles ached from the lack of exercise. She would always be training or out hunting for supplies back at the Resistance camp but she could hardly do that in this cell.

She grabbed the blanket, missing its small protection already and turned to face Torchwick's sleeping form. He seemed at ease now, all worries and pain vanquished from his face leaving the vulnerable pale guy behind. You wouldn't think he was in any pain at all. She spotted his half eaten stale bread, guessing he was saving it for later. Who knew when they would be fed again?

Soon, hopefully.

Her footsteps were like earthquakes. The cell was so quiet that you could hear her coming from a mile away. Torchwick didn't stir and by the look of things, he would be sleeping for a while. Ruby hesitated, her fingers gripped tightly onto the blanket. Just staring at his tall form, she began to contemplate possible explanations on his situation. He always avoided the topic with that ever-charming humourless tone she always hated.

Two years. She hadn't seen hide nor hair of this guy for nearly two whole years. She thought he had died in that warehouse. Whenever they were up against an attack with the Grimm or even Cinder's other lackeys, she found it strange to think Torchwick was gone. After all, he was the root of every problem back then.

But even bad guys had trust issues. Whatever Torchwick was guarding, he wasn't going to give up the information anytime soon, or that easily for that matter. Maybe he _did _have a plan to escape and then would use it against Cinder. If that were the case then maybe...

Ruby shook her head violently. _No, we could never be allies. _

On top of that, if he really had a plan, he wouldn't have been here for this long, enduring the everlasting torture. She was reminded of her owns words, how he hadn't a single ally to come to his aid. For the first time, she considered him to be lonely and abandoned. He had given up with trying to escape from this place. She gave him a fleeting look of suspicion, taking in his gentle sleeping face and line of his jaw. He couldn't possibly have a plan... right?

Without wasting another moment, Ruby stepped closer and drew the blanket over his body, stopping just up to his shoulders. Those ugly marks and bruises were covered and she relaxed, almost immediately jerking back from her thoughts. So what if he was hurt? She took one last glance at his face and frowned.

A thief. A liar. A killer. _No. _In all the times she had battled Torchwick, not once had she seen the brute take another life. He may have been the reason behind the deaths of innocent people due to his 'hobby' but she had never once seen him physically kill another. He always had his acolytes to do the job for him. Did that make him any better? Probably not.

Ruby pushed herself away and returned back to her spot, curled up in her cloak and let her mind wander back to the Resistance camp.

* * *

><p><em>"It's strange. She never really talked that much but it's weird not having her around..."<em>

_Ruby could feel every pair of eyes on her as she cleaned the dishes. She wished they stopped trying to make her feel better, but how could she even think about being happy with the fact Blake was gone?_

_"Sun is taking this really hard." _

_When did Neptune get back? Last she heard, he had left with a group of other survivors in search of Dust. That had been over a week ago. She was sure they returned with mere shards of Dust crystals and even bigger battle scars. A hand grabbed her shoulder gently, halting her actions. She didn't look back to know who it was._

_"Ruby, don't beat yourself up about it. It wasn't your fault," said Yang. She gripped on tighter to give her assurance._

_The few plates left in the sink remained partly clean so Ruby got to work, shrugging Yang off._

_The room went silent with only the cluttering noises coming from the sink. The dirty water swished around Ruby's hands, a huge distortion in its colour against her milky white skin. Conserving their clean water was always one of the biggest issues, saved for times when it was really needed. Nothing could be done about it._

_She was suddenly stopped when two hands grabbed her wrists. She looked up and faced the pair of glowing red eyes that soon returned to its calm purple shade. Her shoulders slumped in defeat._

_"No one is blaming you for what happened. Know why? Because it wasn't __your __fault!" Yang all but shook her as if to try and knock some sense into her brain._

_Ruby weakened, looking round the room and catching the other's looks of pity. Weiss, Neptune, Ren, Velvet...and finally Yang. All with sympathy swimming in their eyes, all of them her remaining friends at the camp. Sun must be twice as shattered for they all knew of his attachment with their other Faunus friend._

_But whose fault was that?_

_"It was my fault. Mine and mine alone," she whispered to herself. The grips on her wrists tightened._

_"Stop it! You can't blame yourself for something that wasn't your fault! We were all betrayed all right? Do you think Blake would be happy to see you like this?" Yang rebuked. Ruby felt herself tear up._

_"But Yang..."_

_"No. No buts, we all just need to stick together and fight through this. Okay?" Yang smiled weakly, easing off her grip._

_She knew they all meant well. So she sighed and nodded slowly. They all seemed content and smiled at her, shaking their heads in agreement with Yang's words. She would act normal in front of them, but deep inside, she would forever hate herself for failing to save Blake. She should have been stronger. She was their team leader but she failed on her part to take care of her team. She couldn't get to Cinder on time._

* * *

><p><em>Clink. Clink. Clink.<em>

Ruby snapped her eyes open. Her previous thoughts of her memories washing away. Those footsteps again – Cinder was back. But for what this time? She turned and sat up, rubbing her eyes as she looked out across the bars and poorly lit room to see the glowing lines of Cinder's markings floating in the back. Her eyes changed to Torchwick's sleeping form seeing him sound asleep.

"He'll be out for a while, you shouldn't worry."

Ruby drew in a breath. "What do you want, Cinder?"

She could almost feel her smiling all smugly to herself. But instead of the usual speeches about how pathetic she was or how she was going to die, Cinder had something else to say this time.

"Bind her."

Two White Fang member's opened the cell door - surprisingly silent as if not to wake Torchwick. They waited as Ruby stared silently. _What did she expect me to do?_

"Move it. "

There was her answer. She noticed how they all were on their guard, perhaps due to knowing she was fast and would most likely be able to escape. But with an explosive laced cell, she wasn't about to stake her life on it.

"I could escape. You wouldn't risk your life," she said with confidence.

Cinder seemed to have considered this already because she merely shrugged. "I suppose. Though you forget I am the very thing explosives are made of."

She did forget. The woman was born from the fires of hell. Flames and explosions would hardly affect her but it seemed to unnerve her lackey's. The two White Fang members stiffened. They would be safe. _For now. _

Narrowing her eyes suspiciously, Ruby pulled herself up to stand. She gave one final look at Torchwick, unaffected by the commotion and walked past to the cell door. Perhaps it was time for her to face the same sentence. Her feet were bound by silver cuffs as were her hands. Ruby tugged at them, noticing how the chain between the cuffs was short so she wouldn't be able to use the chain to strangle a few enemies.

_Pity._

She looked up to smirk. Cinder said nothing and led the way back out of the cell with Ruby obediently following behind.

Now that she was clear of her surroundings without drugs flowing through her bloodstream, she noticed the splendour of Cinder's hideout. It was fairly dark in most parts, like they were underground or in the basement level of her lair-like palace. Though you wouldn't call it a palace, not from the view of the outside. It seemed more like a haunted building, closed off and heavily guarded. It had been easy to break past with her speed. _How long ago was that now?_ Ruby tried not to think about it.

But it was a palace. Fully functional and stocked up. She must have had her own garden with living plants if she was provided with fruit. The luxuries were endless, for Cinder ruled Remnant. She had everything within her grasp. Food, clean water, medicine, Dust, you name it. She was living like a queen.

It made Ruby writhe in disgust.

How many more palaces' did Cinder own? One for each kingdom no doubt. One in every other continent too. Why did she choose to reside in Vale? If she wasn't cuffed, she would have given Cinder a good kick to the head.

Speaking of cuffs, her ankles were beginning to hurt from shuffling. The chain wasn't nearly as long enough for her feet. The guards merely shoved her along, not caring if she tripped.

They reached an arched door, guarded by a further two White Fang members. They looked to be from an Elite rank with their different uniforms. They saluted before moving aside and opened the door for them.

Inside, it was lit up but not from natural lighting. No windows, no other exits. Nothing. Ruby couldn't even tell what time of day it was. It had been almost midnight when she attacked Cinder but after spending so many God forsaken hours in that cell, it was hard to tell the time anymore.

The room they had come to was obviously Cinder's private chambers. She tried to keep a memory of the route but they took so many turns that she wasn't so sure she knew the way anymore. Cinder's room was neat, clean, and set up with every essential need. It was almost like the apocalypse was nonexistent; nothing affected her in any way.

The door slammed shut behind them, the impact echoing across the silent room.

Cinder took her seat at her desk with the throne-like mahogany chair placed behind. The desk was empty, clear of any papers if there had formerly been any. Ruby watched the witch lean back into her seat, resting her elbows on the arm rests and joined hands at her torso as if she were ready to interrogate. Her eyes were half covered by a layer of eyelashes but she could see the glowing pits of fire in her irises.

With a flick of her hand, the two guards watching over Ruby, turned and left.

"You really should stop trying to escape," Cinder called out, breaking the silence. "Perhaps I should reconsider extracting your semblance..."

A bloodcurdling chill ran down Ruby's spine. She forced herself to keep her horror hidden. Her stomach churned unpleasantly at the thought of having her only source of power taken away. It was the only thing she had left which could help her. Trying to keep a straight face to match Cinder's confidence, Ruby kept silent.

"What a waste of Dust that would be, not that I don't have Dust to spare." Cinder continued, speaking to herself as Ruby blocked out her voice. She was too busy thinking about why she was dragged in here. "It would be all the more entertaining I suppose."

"What do you want with me?"

Simultaneously, her eyes scouted the room. She didn't want to give any indication that she felt intimidated.

There was a horrible pause before Cinder finally came clean. She smiled.

"I have a proposition for you."

That got her attention all right. Ruby made eye contact in a snap on hearing those words. Cinder seemed oddly hopeful, if not completely confident. Ruby narrowed her eyes.

"If it doesn't include me tearing off your head with my weapon, then I'm not interested."

A sharp chuckle left Cinder's lips as she flashed a slick smile. Her eyes glowing. "I really do like this side of you Ruby, opposed to the irritating preppy brat you used to be when we first met."

Just being refreshed of that memory when they bumped into each other in the hallways was sickening. It was when it all started. When everything started going wrong.

Cinder sighed. "So young. So much potential." Ruby glared. "Your abilities would prove useful for me. Think about it Ruby, you don't have to rot and die in a cell. You'll be well fed, you'll be safe and most importantly, you'll have _freedom_."

She said the word as if she was offering Dust. Ruby began to snort with laughter, an action that wiped Cinder's smile right off. How could she even begin to think an offer like that interested her? She would rather die than join Cinder's flanks.

Her laughing subsided slowly as she turned bitter. "You must be off your rockers if you think for even a second I would betray my friends!"

Cinder clasped her hands together, leaning forwards and placing them on the table. She wasn't laughing. "You know how bad it is out there. I'm the one controlling the game here, do you understand that?" she hissed.

Ruby shrugged, brushing it off as it were dirt.

Cinder narrowed her eyes, the sparks in them lit up. She raised a hand to rest her chin on as she tilted her head to one side, studying Ruby. Her lips turned up into a wary smile.

"What if I said... that I could help your sister?"

Time stopped for Ruby. She double backed, repeating Cinder's words over and over in her head. Did she hear correct? Any traces of stubborn confidence left her. Instead, her mind raced with images of Yang. Brave, smart and caring Yang who laid in a coma back at the Resistance camp. She could remember clearly how Yang took the hit as she acted recklessly against an army of Cinder's men and Grimm. That one mistake led to her sister's current state.

She didn't care if they had different mothers, Yang would always be her sister no matter what.

_Wait a minute, how does she even know about Yang?_

Horrified, Ruby looked up. "My sister is fine." She had to test her. _Cinder couldn't possibly know..._

"Oh Ruby, you don't need to hide it from me. I know all about your dear sister who lies in a coma."

"Because of you!"

Cinder slammed a hand down on the table. "No Ruby, it was because of _you_."

Stung, Ruby flinched back. Her confidence took a beating as she manifested the truth behind the words. She was so stupid, so reckless and childish. _Yes, it was my fault._

"As a result, do you not feel obligated to save her?" Cinder continued to lay it on thickly, trapping Ruby in an endless cloud of guilt. "Is it not your responsibility to make up for the repercussions of your actions?"

Ruby looked down. "She'll wake up." There was no self-assurance in her words. Even she didn't believe them and Cinder knew this.

"You are making this far more difficult than it has to be. The offer is simple, join me and you'll live a life of luxury. You will outrank most of my army, meaning no more putting up with taunts from Mercury and Emerald and yes, I know all about your little attachment to them," she added, frowning a little. Ruby looked up again. Cinder leaned forwards, eagerness in her alluring expression. "Join me Ruby, and I will save your sister."

She didn't buy it. Until it came to that last sentence. Saving Yang meant everything right now. She was responsible for Yang's condition so it only made sense for her to make things right.

"How?" The word was out before she could even think or consider the penalties it would bring.

Cinder's smile broadened. Triumphant. "You'd be amazed with what Dust can do these days. Leave that to me."

Ruby felt her stomach tighten. Could she do it? Betray everyone to save Yang? Live a life serving Cinder as one of her lackeys? She balled her hands into fists. Why did everything have to be so complicated?

The table creaked as the weight was lifted off of it. Cinder straightened up. "Do we have a deal?"

Ruby thought long and hard. Everything a muddle as she balanced the reasons. Accepting it would end most of her problems. Yang would be fine. She could easily give aid in secret if she worked for Cinder. She wouldn't starve or freeze from the cold. Mercury and Emerald would get their deserved punishment.

The answer was simple.

Ruby shook her head to flick the hair out of her face, smiling contemptuously as she stared directly at Cinder in the eye.

"You killed Blake."

"A fact. But that was over a year ago," Cinder tilted her head and grinned.

There was a long pause. A pause that had Cinder narrowing her eyes, confounded. Ruby continued to smile.

"I'll tell you where you can stick your deal..."

* * *

><p>"Hello Red. Nice to have you back."<p>

Ruby groaned as her chest and face dealt with the shards of pain from making contact with the ground. It felt like déjà vu only this time she was more aware of the pain. She was thrown back into the dingy cold cell, quite literally, where she found Torchwick wide awake and sat up, the blanket on his lap. He smirked on seeing her. She completely forgot about the blanket and ignored him and the way her heartbeat quickened on seeing his smirk.

The cell door slammed shut and locked behind her. She turned her face as much as she could to glance up at Cinder.

"Enjoy the time you have left in each others company," Cinder spoke from behind the bars, clearly fuming inside but refused to show it. She gave Ruby one last look of resentment. "_Foolish girl_," she sneered quietly.

With that she left, her minions following behind.

When the area became quiet, Ruby groaned as she pushed herself up. Her body felt like it had gained over a hundred new bruises, save her wounded arm that she managed to protect from Cinder's rage. Refusing her offer was easy. Her hatred for Cinder was too big for her to even consider betraying her friends and sister. Yang was strong, she could fight the coma. Ruby knew she could.

But what alarmed her right now was exactly how Cinder knew about Yang. She wasn't at the battlefield on the day it happened, nor could you tell she had fallen into a coma at the time. It was only after they retreated and got back to camp did their only doctor come to that conclusion.

She could feel every nerve on alert as she racked her mind for theories. She felt queasy at one. It would be the worst if it proved to be true but it was also the most likely.

_There was a traitor at their camp._

How many more would they have to deal with? How is Cinder continuously one step ahead of them? Once more, the fact Cinder practically admitted she had a spy at the Resistance meant she was confident that Ruby wouldn't escape.

Nausea was beginning to take effect in her stomach but she was soon distracted by Torchwick's familiar voice. "She put you through hell," he chuckled, eyeing her disgruntled form. "What did you do to tick off her Majesty?"

It was like his hostility from earlier had never happened, she wasn't sure how to act. She pushed herself up with difficulty before sighing in relief, giving in. "She offered me a deal." Pause. "Swear fealty and my sister would be saved."

When she didn't continue, Torchwick pressed on.

"And what did you say?"

She told him.

The silence was soon replaced by Torchwick's abrupt loud laughter. Although it startled her, Ruby couldn't help but watch incredulously as he rocked his head back and laughed, not even wincing. When was the last time she laughed like that? She felt a twinge of jealousy.

"Oh this-_ this is exceptional!_ I must commend you Red, you are quite the artiste," he said between laughs, catching her eye.

On seeing the soft gesture and smile on his face, she felt her heart swell. This was a rare sight indeed, she didn't think she had ever seen a genuine smile on his face. He continued to chuckle and strangely...

...she found herself smiling too.

* * *

><p><strong>Heh. Yeah. Tell me your thoughts! :D<br>**

**I was asked if Neo would be in this fic - the answer is YES. Yes she will! And she will play a part in the story, you'll see! **

**IMPORTANT!**

**Would any of you guys want a chapter from Torchwick's POV? I might make it a regular thing if you guys would like it. :-) Let me know please!**

**It makes me so happy that you guys are enjoying the story! Thank you so much for the reviews SpringFallionLettuce, Hopelessromantic721, onegracefulqueen, DiamondStarz8, frik1000, bowow0708, Foxtrot Agent 21, Maiden of Sin, Mr Ruffles, kcharling and rwbybomb21! Your support motivates me so much! x**

**Till next time!**


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